Short answer: Plan 1 members can retire early at age 55 with at least 5 years of service credit, or age 50 with at least 10 years of service credit. The cut is 0.5% a month for the first 60 months early and 0.4% for each month after, for life. Plan 2 and Hybrid members can retire early at age 60 with at least 5 years of service credit; VRS doesn't publish their monthly rate, so we show an upper limit. See which plan, one more year and Social Security, which sets the Plan 2 age. Load a Plan 1 example (55 with 25 years) in the calculator.
Who can retire early
- Plan 1: age 55 with at least 5 years of service credit.
- Plan 1: age 50 with at least 10 years of service credit.
- Plan 2 and Hybrid: age 60 with at least 5 years of service credit.
Plan 1: 0.5% a month, then 0.4%
VRS counts the months from your retirement date to the date you'd qualify for an unreduced benefit: age 65, or the date you'd have 30 years of service, whichever is sooner. It cuts 0.5% for each of the first 60 months and 0.4% for each month after that.
Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 55/5 (for Plan 1 members); Va. Code § 51.1-155(A)(2); Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type (55/5: months needed to meet age or service requirements for an unreduced benefit)| Months early | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 72 | 84 | 96 | 108 | 120 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut | 6% | 12% | 18% | 24% | 30% | 34.8% | 39.6% | 44.4% | 49.2% | 54% |
| You keep | 94% | 88% | 82% | 76% | 70% | 65.2% | 60.4% | 55.6% | 50.8% | 46% |
Examples (our calculator, $42,000 average)
- Age 55 with 25 years: 60 months to 30 years, so 30% less: $1,041.25 a month instead of $1,487.50.
- Age 55 with 5 years: 120 months to age 65, so 54% less: $136.85 instead of $297.50.
- Age 60 with 10 years: 60 months to 65, so 30% less: $416.50 instead of $595.00.
These are our engine's results using VRS's published rate, not VRS examples.
Plan 1 at 50 with 10 years
50/10: reduced 0.5% for the first 60 months, plus 4/10 of 1% for any additional months needed to meet the age and service requirements for an unreduced benefit, plus an additional reduction of 6/10 of 1% for each month the member is younger than 55. Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 50/10 (for Plan 1 members); p. 6, Reduced Benefit Formula
Example: age 52 with 20 years. Our calculator gives a 61.2% cut: $461.72 a month instead of $1,190.00. Check with VRS
For Plan 1 retirement at 50 with 10 years, the Employer Manual lists three pieces of the reduction joined by "plus" but doesn't show a worked example. State law describes the same benefit as the actuarial value of waiting until 55.
We add the three pieces: 0.5%/0.4% a month from age 55 to your unreduced date, plus 0.6% for each month you're under 55.
Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 50/10; Va. Code § 51.1-155(A)(5)Plan 2 and Hybrid: the rate isn't published
VRS says when the cut stops: at your Social Security normal retirement age, or the first date you'd have both 30 years and age plus service of 90, whichever comes first. If you already have 30 years, it's the date your age plus service reaches 90. Va. Code § 51.1-155(A)(3); Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 60/5 (for Plan 2 and Hybrid plan members)
But neither the handbooks, the Employer Manual nor state law give the per-month rate. The law says only that the benefit is reduced "on an actuarial equivalent basis". Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 60/5 (for Plan 2 and Hybrid plan members); Plan 2 Handbook p. 14, Reduced Retirement
VRS doesn't publish how much Plan 2 and Hybrid benefits are cut for retiring early (age 60 with 5 years). The Employer Manual says only what date the cut is counted to, and state law says only that it is an "actuarial equivalent".
So for Plan 2 and Hybrid early retirement we show your unreduced Basic Benefit as an "up to" amount. Your real check will be lower. As a rough guide only, we also show what Plan 1's published rate would give.
Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 60/5; Va. Code § 51.1-155(A)(3)Born in 1967, so the Social Security normal retirement age is 67. That's 84 months away, sooner than any Rule of 90 date.
Your benefit would be up to $926.63 a month. That's the unreduced Basic Benefit. The real check will be lower.
If Plan 1's published rate applied, 84 months early would be 39.6% less: about $560 a month. VRS hasn't published Plan 2's rate, so this isn't an estimate of your benefit.
A search result said VRS was reviewing its early retirement reduction factors in 2025. We couldn't download the document to confirm it.
We use the rules in the July 2026 sources.
Employer Manual p. 4Counting the months
The sources count early retirement in months, but don't say how a partial month is counted.
We count whole months from your retirement date to the first of the month on or after the date you'd qualify unreduced.
Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by TypeRetirement always starts on the first of a month. The sources don't say exactly which first of the month counts when your birthday falls mid-month.
We treat an age as reached on the first of the month on or after your birthday (a birthday on the 1st counts that day).
Plan 1 Handbook p. 52, Retirement Date and Monthly Benefit PaymentsFrom the sources
- Plan 1: you can retire with a reduced benefit as early as age 55 with five years of service credit, or age 50 with 10 years.Plan 1 Handbook p. 15, Reduced Retirement
- Plan 2 and Hybrid: the earliest reduced retirement is age 60 with five years of service credit.Plan 2 Handbook p. 14; Hybrid Handbook p. 16
- Plan 1 (age 55 with five years): the benefit is cut 0.5% for each of the first 60 months you retire early and 0.4% for each month after that. Early months are counted to the earlier of age 65 or the date you'd have reached 30 years of service.Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 55/5; Va. Code § 51.1-155(A)(2)
- Plan 1 (age 50 with 10 years): the same 0.5%/0.4% reduction, plus another 0.6% for each month you are younger than 55.Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 50/10
- Check with VRSPlan 2 and Hybrid: the reduction is measured to the earlier of your normal Social Security retirement age or the first date you'd have 30 years of service and age plus service of 90. VRS doesn't publish the per-month rate; this site borrows Plan 1's rate and labels the result an estimate.Employer Manual p. 4, Reduction by Type: 60/5; Va. Code § 51.1-155(A)(3)
- School superintendents involuntarily separated for reasons other than cause with 20 or more years may retire unreduced as early as age 50.Plan 1 Handbook p. 49, Special waiver for selected positions
Questions
How much does retiring early cost in VRS Plan 1?
0.5% for each of the first 60 months before you'd qualify unreduced, and 0.4% for each month after that. The months are counted to age 65 or the date you'd have 30 years, whichever comes first.
How much does retiring early cost in Plan 2 or the Hybrid plan?
VRS doesn't publish the rate. The cut is counted to your Social Security normal retirement age or your Rule of 90 date, whichever comes first. myVRS's Benefit Estimator shows your own figure.
Does the reduction go away later?
No. An early retirement reduction is permanent.
Source: VRS Plan 1, Plan 2 and Hybrid Retirement Plan Handbooks for Members, 07-2026 editions (VRSHB-1 07-2026, VRSHB-2 07-2026, HybridHB 07-2026), Plan 1 Handbook pp. 15, 49; Plan 2 Handbook p. 14; Hybrid Handbook p. 16. Also: Employer Manual pp. 4, 6; Code of Virginia §§ 51.1-153, 51.1-155. Last reviewed .