Tier 1 Noncontributory
Full at 65, or 30 years
- 65 with 4 years
- 62 with 10 years
- 60 with 20 years
- Any age with 30 years
- Any age with 25 years (with full actuarial age reduction)
Tier 2 Hybrid
Full at 65, or 35 years
- 65 with 4 years
- 62 with 10 years
- 60 with 20 years
- Any age with 35 years
Short answer: URS pays a full benefit at 65, or at any age with 30 years in Tier 1 or 35 in the Tier 2 Hybrid. Retire earlier and your benefit is cut for life by an age-based factor: with fewer years than that, at 60 you keep 85%, in Tier 2 61.75%. Not sure of your tier? Which tier am I? To shrink the cut, see one more year or buying service. Load a Tier 1 example (60 with 27 years) in the calculator.
- Tier 1 Noncontributory pays a monthly benefit at 65 with 4 years, 62 with 10, 60 with 20, any age with 25 (with a full actuarial reduction) or any age with 30. It's unreduced at 65 or with 30 years.Tier 1 Highlights (2026-27), p. 15; Utah Code 49-13-401, 49-13-402(2)
- The Tier 2 Hybrid pays a monthly benefit at 65 with 4 years, 62 with 10, 60 with 20, or any age with 35. It's unreduced at 65 (with 4 years) or with 35 years.Tier 2 Highlights (2026-27), p. 15; Comparing Tier 2 Plans (2026-27), p. 25
- If your actual (not purchased) service is within a tenth of a year of what you need, Utah law treats you as having the full amount (for example 29.9 years counts as 30 in Tier 1).Utah Code 49-13-402(2)(c)(ii), 49-22-305(2)(c)(ii)
- Your retirement date is the 1st or 16th of a month, after you stop all work for every URS employer. File the application no more than 90 days before or after that date.Tier 1 Highlights (2026-27), pp. 16-17; Utah Code 49-13-401(2)
The reduction
Tier 1: If you have fewer than 30 years of service, retiring before 65 reduces your benefit by 3% for each year from 60 to 65, plus a full actuarial reduction for each year before 60. Utah Code 49-13-402(2)(b); Tier 1 Highlights (2026-27), p. 15
Tier 2 Hybrid: With fewer than 35 years, retiring before 65 means a full actuarial reduction for each year from 60 to 65. Utah Code 49-22-305(2)(b); Tier 2 Highlights (2026-27), p. 15
URS's member booklets don't print the factors. Its actuarial valuation does, and those are what we use. They're the share of your full benefit you keep.
Tier 1 factors
| Age | You keep | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 65full benefit | 100% | −3% |
| 64 | 97% | −3% |
| 63 | 94% | −3% |
| 62 | 91% | −3% |
| 61 | 88% | −3% |
| 60 | 85% | −7.51% |
| 59 | 77.49% | −6.76% |
| 58 | 70.73% | −6.11% |
| 57 | 64.62% | −5.52% |
| 56 | 59.1% | −4.99% |
| 55 | 54.11% | −4.53% |
| 54 | 49.58% | −4.11% |
| 53 | 45.47% | −3.74% |
| 52 | 41.73% | −3.39% |
| 51 | 38.34% | −3.1% |
| 50 | 35.24% | −2.82% |
| 49 | 32.42% | −2.58% |
| 48 | 29.84% | −2.35% |
| 47 | 27.49% | −2.16% |
| 46 | 25.33% | −1.97% |
| 45 | 23.36% |
Tier 2 Hybrid factors
| Age | You keep | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 65full benefit | 100% | −9.49% |
| 64 | 90.51% | −8.44% |
| 63 | 82.07% | −7.53% |
| 62 | 74.54% | −6.74% |
| 61 | 67.8% | −6.05% |
| 60 | 61.75% |
"Change" is how many points you lose by retiring one year younger. URS prints no 100% row; 65 is the full-benefit age in Utah law.
The Tier 1 Highlights says the under-60 reduction is 'approximately 7% for every year under age 60'. The valuation's factor table gives 85.00% at 60 and 77.49% at 59 (7.51 points), then smaller steps (e.g. 59.10% to 54.11% from 56 to 55, 4.99 points), about 8.6-9.1% of the prior factor per year. We use the table.
The booklet says: "approximately 7% for every year under age 60 and 3% for each year between ages 60 and 65". We use the table.
Tier 1 Highlights (2026-27), p. 15; URS Actuarial Valuation (Jan. 1, 2025), App. 2, p. 97
The Tier 2 booklets say 'approximately 7% for each year between ages 60 and 63, and approximately 9% for each year between ages 64 and 65'. The valuation's factors step down 9.49 points (65 to 64), 8.44 (64 to 63), 7.53 (63 to 62), 6.74 (62 to 61) and 6.05 (61 to 60). We use the table.
The booklets say: "approximately 7% for each year between ages 60 and 63, and approximately 9% for each year between ages 64 and 65". We use the table.
Tier 2 Highlights (2026-27), pp. 2, 15; URS Actuarial Valuation (Jan. 1, 2025), App. 2, p. 117
The factor tables are by whole age. The statutes reduce 'for each year of retirement' before 65. Our calculator interpolates linearly by completed months of age between table ages (e.g. 62 and 6 months under Tier 1 = 92.5%).
We interpolate the published factors by months of age.
What would settle it: A URS estimate or Board rule showing the factor for an age between birthdays.
The Tier 1 factor table stops at age 45. A member could reach 25 years before 45. Below 45 our calculator shows no amount.
No estimate below age 45.
What would settle it: URS's full Noncontributory actuarial reduction table.
The factors come from the actuarial valuation as of Jan. 1, 2025 (updated Nov. 20, 2025), not from a member booklet. URS may revise them after a later experience study.
The factors in the Jan. 1, 2025 actuarial valuation.
What would settle it: A newer valuation or a URS-generated estimate.
Utah Code 49-13-402(2)(c)(ii) and 49-22-305(2)(c)(ii): actual (not purchased) service within 1/10 of a year of the requirement counts as meeting it. Our calculator applies this to every age/service threshold (eligibility and the 30- or 35-year unreduced test) but uses actual service in the formula.
Actual service within 0.1 year of a threshold meets it; the formula uses your real years.
What would settle it: A URS rule or estimate for a member 0.05 years short of a threshold.
The reduction in dollars
Our engine on URS's factors, not URS examples. Tier 1: a member who stops with 26 years on a $60,000 final average salary and retires on a birthday. Tier 2 Hybrid: 20 years on $60,000.
| Tier 1 at | You keep | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | 54.11% | $1,407 |
| 56 | 59.1% | $1,537 |
| 57 | 64.62% | $1,680 |
| 58 | 70.73% | $1,839 |
| 59 | 77.49% | $2,015 |
| 60 | 85% | $2,210 |
| 61 | 88% | $2,288 |
| 62 | 91% | $2,366 |
| 63 | 94% | $2,444 |
| 64 | 97% | $2,522 |
| 65 | 100% | $2,600 |
| Tier 2 at | You keep | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 61.75% | $926 |
| 61 | 67.8% | $1,017 |
| 62 | 74.54% | $1,118 |
| 63 | 82.07% | $1,231 |
| 64 | 90.51% | $1,358 |
| 65 | 100% | $1,500 |
Full benefits: $2,600 (Tier 1, 26 years) and $1,500 (Tier 2, 20 years) a month at 65.
Retirement dates
Your retirement date is the 1st or the 16th of a month. You must stop all work for every URS participating employer before that date (a bona fide termination), and the application must be filed no more than 90 days before or after the retirement date. Tier 1 Highlights (2026-27), pp. 16-17; Tier 1 Retirement Guidebook (Sept. 2026), pp. 5-6; Utah Code 49-13-401(2), 49-22-304(2)
- Check with URSBetween birthdays we interpolate the factors by month.URS's tables list whole ages only, and no source says how URS handles the months between birthdays.URS Actuarial Valuation (Jan. 1, 2025), App. 2, pp. 97, 117 (whole ages only)
See your own dates in the calculator, or what one more year adds.
Questions
What's the earliest I can retire from URS?
Tier 1: at 60 with 20 years, 62 with 10, 65 with 4, or any age with 25 years (reduced) or 30 (full). Tier 2 Hybrid: 60 with 20, 62 with 10, 65 with 4, or any age with 35.
How much does URS reduce a Tier 1 early retirement?
With fewer than 30 years, 3% a year from 60 to 65, so you keep 85% at 60, then a full actuarial reduction before 60: 77.49% at 59, 54.11% at 55 and 35.24% at 50.
How much does URS reduce a Tier 2 early retirement?
With fewer than 35 years, a full actuarial reduction for each year before 65: 90.51% at 64, 74.54% at 62 and 61.75% at 60.
Is URS's reduction 7% a year?
That's the booklets' round figure. URS's actuarial valuation lists the exact factors, which we use; they don't step by exactly 7%.
Source: URS Tier 1 Noncontributory and Tier 2 Public Employees Retirement System Highlights, 2026-27, effective July 1, 2026, Tier 1 pp. 15, 16-17; Tier 2 pp. 2, 15. Also: URS Actuarial Valuation (Jan. 1, 2025); Comparing Tier 2 Plans (2026-27); Tier 1 Retirement Guidebook (Sept. 2026); Utah Code §§ 49-13-401, 49-13-402, 49-22-304, 49-22-305. Last reviewed .