Short answer: your membership date decides. Before July 1, 2010 and vested by January 1, 2013: Plan 1 (1.7%). July 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013, or not vested in time: Plan 2 (1.65% on service from 2013). January 1, 2014 or later: the Hybrid plan (1% plus an account). Details: the formula, the Hybrid plan, early retirement. Try a Plan 1, Plan 2 or Hybrid example in the calculator.
Three questions
- Did you become a VRS member on or after January 1, 2014? Then you're in the Hybrid Retirement Plan.
- Did you become a member from July 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013? Then you're in Plan 2.
- Before July 1, 2010? You're in Plan 1 if you had five years (60 months) of service credit by January 1, 2013. If not, Plan 2.
Your membership date is the date you were first reported to VRS in a covered job. If you took a refund, it's the date you came back. Hybrid Handbook p. 81, Frequently Used Terms: Membership Date
A member with a pre-July 1, 2010 ORP balance who moved to a defined benefit plan needs a combination of VRS service and ORP participation of five years as of January 1, 2013 to be Plan 1. Plan 2 Handbook p. 74, Frequently Used Terms: Plan 1
Moved to the Hybrid plan in 2014?
Plan 1 and Plan 2 members could choose to move to the Hybrid plan. The choice took effect July 1, 2014. If you did, your old multiplier still applies to your service before then, and the Hybrid plan's 1% applies after. Everything else follows Hybrid rules. Hybrid Handbook p. 18, Defined Benefit Multiplier for Opt-In Members; Employer Manual p. 5, Multiplier table; Va. Code § 51.1-169(D)(1)
If your membership date is before July 1, 2010, you're in Plan 1 only if you had five years of service credit by January 1, 2013. We can't see your record.
If you don't pick your plan, we assume continuous service from your membership date and tell you which plan that gives. myVRS shows your actual plan.
Plan 2 Handbook p. 13, Eligible EmployeesThe three plans side by side
| VRS Plan 1 | VRS Plan 2 | Hybrid Retirement Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who's in it | Membership date before July 1, 2010, AND vested (at least 5 years / 60 months of service credit) before January 1, 2013, AND no refund taken. | Membership date July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2013 (no refund taken), OR membership date before July 1, 2010 but not vested before January 1, 2013. | Membership date on or after January 1, 2014; also Plan 1 and Plan 2 members who elected to transfer (opt-in), with coverage effective July 1, 2014. A member who took a refund and is rehired in an eligible position is rehired under the Hybrid plan. |
| Multiplier | 1.7% | 1.7% (service earned, purchased or granted before January 1, 2013); 1.65% (service earned, purchased or granted on or after January 1, 2013) | 1% |
| Average final compensation | Highest 36 months in a row | Highest 60 months in a row | Highest 60 months in a row |
| Unreduced retirement | Age 65 with at least 5 years of service credit; or Age 50 with at least 30 years of service credit | Normal Social Security retirement age with at least 5 years of service credit; or Age plus service credit equal 90 (example: age 60 with 30 years) | Normal Social Security retirement age with at least 5 years of service credit; or Age plus service equal 90 (Rule of 90) with at least 5 years of service credit |
| Earliest reduced retirement | Age 55 with at least 5 years of service credit; or Age 50 with at least 10 years of service credit | Age 60 with at least 5 years of service credit | Age 60 with at least 5 years of service credit |
| COLA | Up to 5% a year | Up to 3% a year | Up to 3% a year |
| You contribute | 5% of pay | 5% of pay | 4% of pay to the pension part, plus at least 1% to the savings part |
Sources: Plan 1 Handbook p. 16, Your Core Benefit; Va. Code § 51.1-155(A)(1); Plan 2 Handbook p. 15, Your Core Benefit; Va. Code § 51.1-155(A)(1); Hybrid Handbook p. 17, Your Core Benefit; Va. Code § 51.1-169(D)(1); Plan 1 Handbook p. 15, Unreduced Retirement; Va. Code § 51.1-153(A), (B)(2); Plan 2 Handbook p. 14, Unreduced Retirement; Va. Code § 51.1-153(A), (B)(3); Hybrid Handbook p. 16, Unreduced Retirement; Plan 1 Handbook p. 56, Cost-of-Living Adjustments; Va. Code § 51.1-166(B); Plan 2 Handbook p. 57, Cost-of-Living Adjustments; Va. Code § 51.1-166(B)
From the handbooks
- VRS has three plans for teachers: Plan 1, Plan 2 and the Hybrid Retirement Plan. Which one you're in depends on your membership date, the date you were first reported to VRS in a covered position.Plan 2 Handbook p. 13, Eligible Employees; Hybrid Handbook p. 81, Membership Date
- Plan 1: membership date before July 1, 2010, and vested (at least five years of service credit) before January 1, 2013, with no refund taken.Plan 1 Handbook p. 13, Eligible Employees
- Plan 2: membership date from July 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013. You're also in Plan 2 if your membership date is before July 1, 2010 but you weren't vested before January 1, 2013.Plan 2 Handbook p. 13, Eligible Employees
- Hybrid Retirement Plan: membership date on or after January 1, 2014. Plan 1 and Plan 2 members who chose to transfer during the 2014 election window joined the Hybrid plan on July 1, 2014.Hybrid Handbook p. 2, Opt-In Members; Va. Code § 51.1-169(A)
- If you took a refund and come back to a Hybrid-eligible job, you're rehired under the Hybrid plan, because your membership date restarts when you return.Hybrid Handbook p. 2; p. 81, Membership Date
- Plan 1 and Plan 2 members contribute 5% of pay. Hybrid members contribute 4% to the pension (defined benefit) part, plus at least 1% to the defined contribution part.Plan 1 Handbook p. 13; Hybrid Plan Overview p. 1, Retirement Contributions
- Your member contribution account earns 4% interest, compounded annually on the balance as of the previous June 30. You can't borrow from it or withdraw from it while you're working.Plan 1 Handbook p. 13, Member Contributions
Questions
How do I find out which VRS plan I'm in?
Log in to myVRS. Your plan is based on your membership date, the date you were first reported to VRS in a covered job.
I joined before July 2010. Why might I be in Plan 2?
Plan 1 also needs five years (60 months) of service credit by January 1, 2013. Without that you're in Plan 2.
Can I switch plans now?
The sources describe only the 2014 election window, when Plan 1 and Plan 2 members could move to the Hybrid plan. If you took a refund and come back, you're rehired under the Hybrid plan.
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 p. 13; Plan 2 Handbook pp. 13, 74; Hybrid Handbook pp. 2, 6, 81. Also: Hybrid Plan Overview p. 1; Code of Virginia §§ 51.1-124.3, 51.1-155, 51.1-169. Last reviewed .