Accrual % × highest average salary = yearly pension
Paid in 12 monthly checks, before any early-retirement cut or survivor option.
Handbook, p. 19, Retirement Benefit Amounts (accrual chart); R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-16-13(a)-(c)What each year of service earns
Years worked since July 1, 2012 earn the same for everyone: 1% a year. If you had 20 or more years of service on June 30, 2012, years from July 1, 2015 earn 2%.
Years before July 1, 2012 earned more, using the Schedule A or Schedule B rates below. Schedules ABE and ABNE use the A rates through Sept. 30, 2009 and the B rates after that. Which schedule am I?
Schedule A rates (service through June 30, 2012)
| Years of service | Each year | Band total |
|---|---|---|
| Years 1-10 | 1.7% | 17% |
| Years 11-20 | 1.9% | 19% |
| Years 21-34 | 3% | 42% |
| Year 35 | 2% | 2% |
| 35 years | 80% |
Schedule B rates (service through June 30, 2012)
| Years of service | Each year | Band total |
|---|---|---|
| Years 1-10 | 1.6% | 16% |
| Years 11-20 | 1.8% | 18% |
| Years 21-25 | 2% | 10% |
| Years 26-30 | 2.25% | 11.25% |
| Years 31-37 | 2.5% | 17.5% |
| Year 38 | 2.25% | 2.25% |
| 38 years | 75% |
The year numbers are your total years of service. A teacher with 26 years in 2012 on Schedule B rates was earning the year-26 rate (2.25%) that year.
Your maximum
80% on Schedules A, ABE and ABNE. 75% on Schedules B, B1E, B1NE, B2 and B3. Years past the maximum add nothing. Handbook, p. 19, Retirement Benefit Amounts ('80% for Schedules A, ABE, and ABNE OR 75% for Schedules B, B1E, B1NE, B2 and B3'); R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-16-13(b)
A teacher aged 56 had 26 years of service on June 30, 2012: 23 years on Schedule A rates and the rest on Schedule B rates. That had earned 51.25%. With her highest average salary then ($72,115.93), that's $36,959.41 a year.
Working to 61 under the 2012 law (1% a year) brought her to 56.25% of a $79,621.81 average: $44,787.27 a year.
ERSRI prints $36,959.42 for the first figure (a one-cent rounding difference). Under today's rules this teacher would earn 2% a year from July 1, 2015, because she had 20+ years in 2012.
ERSRI RIRSA Guide (Jan. 2012), pp. 14-15Your highest average salary
- Your highest average salary is the average of your highest 3 consecutive years of pay if you retire on or after July 1, 2024.Treasurer's Article 12 guide (July 1, 2024), p. 13, Adjustment to Final Average Salary; R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-8-1(5)(b)
- The 2020 handbook still says 5 years for most teachers (3 only if you could retire on Sept. 30, 2009). That was the rule for retirement dates before July 1, 2024; the 2024 budget (Article 12) changed it.Handbook, p. 19, note 26; Treasurer's Article 12 guide (July 1, 2024), p. 13
- Pay that counts is salary for your regular duties. Unused sick or vacation payouts, overtime, retirement incentives and raises given mainly because you are about to retire don't count.R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-8-1(8)
- Your average is never treated as lower than it was on June 30, 2012.R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-8-1(5)(c)
Teachers with 30 or more years of service also have a small guaranteed minimum: at least $3,400 a year plus $200 for each year over 30, up to $5,000. R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-16-13.1
What the handbook says
- Your benefit depends on four things: your schedule, your years of creditable service, your highest average salary, and the payment option you choose.Handbook, p. 19, Retirement Benefit Amounts
- Yearly pension = your accrual percentage x your highest average salary. Each year of service adds a percentage. The rate depends on your schedule and when you earned the year.Handbook, p. 19, Retirement Benefit Amounts (chart)
- Since July 1, 2012 every member earns 1.0% a year. If you had 20 or more years of service on June 30, 2012, you earn 2.0% a year from July 1, 2015.Handbook, p. 19, chart columns 'Accruals as of 7/1/12' and 'as of 7/1/15'
- Service through June 30, 2012 on Schedule A rates: 1.7% a year for years 1-10, 1.9% for 11-20, 3.0% for 21-34, 2.0% for year 35.Handbook, p. 19, chart (Schedule A through 6/30/12)
- Service through June 30, 2012 on Schedule B rates: 1.6% for years 1-10, 1.8% for 11-20, 2.0% for 21-25, 2.25% for 26-30, 2.5% for 31-37, 2.25% for year 38.Handbook, p. 19, chart (Schedule B through 6/30/12)
- Schedules ABE and ABNE use Schedule A rates through Sept. 30, 2009 and Schedule B rates from Oct. 1, 2009 to June 30, 2012.Handbook, p. 19, chart column headings ('A/B through 9/30/09'; 'A/B from 10/1/09-6/30/12')
- The most you can get is 80% of your highest average salary on Schedules A, ABE and ABNE, or 75% on Schedules B, B1E, B1NE, B2 and B3.Handbook, p. 19, Retirement Benefit Amounts
- ERSRI's 2012 example: a teacher with 26 years on June 30, 2012 had earned 51.25%. Retiring at 61 with a $79,621.81 average and 56.25% would pay $44,787.27 a year (worked under the 2012 law).ERSRI RIRSA Guide (Jan. 2012), pp. 14-15
Questions
What is my highest average salary?
If you retire on or after July 1, 2024, it's the average of your highest 3 consecutive years of pay. Before that date it was 5 years for most teachers. Payouts of unused sick or vacation leave, overtime and retirement incentives don't count.
What is the most I can get?
80% of your highest average salary on Schedules A, ABE and ABNE; 75% on Schedules B, B1E, B1NE, B2 and B3.
How much does a year of teaching add now?
1% of your highest average salary for each year since July 1, 2012. If you had 20 or more years of service on June 30, 2012, each year from July 1, 2015 adds 2%.
Source: ERSRI Membership and Retirement Handbook, 10th edition, June 2020 (with the 2024 Article 12 changes from the Treasurer's guide, July 1, 2024), pp. 19, 41. Also: Rhode Island General Laws; Treasurer's guide to the 2024 pension changes (Article 12), July 1, 2024; Senate Fiscal Office budget analyses; ERSRI and MERS Regulations, 2013; ERSRI's guide to the Retirement Security Act, Jan. 2012. Last reviewed .