Vermont VSERS and VSTRS Options: Survivorship, Refund, Buyback

Updated October 2, 2026. Quick answer: Two Vermont plan descriptions are read here: VSERS for state employees in Group F and VSTRS for teachers in Group C, both vesting at five years of creditable service. VSERS Group F offers a Maximum benefit, Option 1, and 100% or 50% survivorship, each with a pop-up version; the 100% reduction averages 10% to 25%. VSTRS Group C offers Options 1 to 5, with survivor shares of 50%, 75% or 100%, and the named survivor cannot later be changed. A refund cancels service credit and any future benefit, and 20% federal withholding applies unless the money is rolled over. Purchase payments must be finished within five years before retirement.

More on public pension systems, topic by topic: Vermont VSERS employment after retirement, Vermont VSERS disability retirement and Vermont VSERS early retirement.

What this page covers and what it does not

This page works from two plan descriptions published by the Vermont Office of the State Treasurer: the VSERS Group F Plan Description (Vermont State Employees’ Retirement System) and the VSTRS Group C Plan Description (Vermont State Teachers’ Retirement System). Each fact below is labeled with its group. Other groups exist and are not covered. VSERS itself says “Members who are not Group F members are those who elected to remain Group A, State Police and law enforcement positions (Group C), and Judges (Group D).” Group C of VSTRS is therefore a different group from Group C of VSERS.

That list is not the whole statute. Group F is defined by first inclusion in the system, not by the date of employment. 3 V.S.A. 455(a)(11)(E) says: “(E) “Group F member” means any person who is first included in the membership of the System on or after January 1, 1991, any person who was a Group E member on December 31, 1990, who was in service on that date, and any person who was a Group E member on December 31, 1990, who was absent from service on that date who returns to service on or after January 1, 1991.” The statute also defines a Group G, which is neither Group F nor one of the groups named above. 3 V.S.A. 455(a)(11)(F)(i) says: “(F) “Group G member” means: (i) the following employees who are first employed in the positions listed in this subdivision (F)(i) on or after July 1, 2023, or who are members of the System as of June 30, 2023, and make an irrevocable election to prospectively join Group G on or before June 30, 2023, pursuant to the terms set by the Board: facility employees of the Department of Corrections, as Department of Corrections employees who provide direct security and treatment services to offenders under supervision in the community, employees of a facility for justice-involved youth, and employees of the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital or its successor in interest, who provide direct patient care;” Its next clauses reach later groups; ask the Retirement Office which group applies.

Group F of VSERS: “If you were employed by the State of Vermont or participating entity on or after January 1, 1991, you are automatically a Group F member.” Group C of VSTRS: “If you were employed as a public school teacher within the State of Vermont on or after July 1, 1990, you are automatically a Group C member.”

The statute keys VSTRS Group C to first inclusion in the system, too. 16 V.S.A. 1931(10)(B) says: “(B) “Group C member”: any person who is first included in the membership of the System on or after July 1, 1990, any person who was a Group B member on June 30, 1990 who was in service on that date, and any person who was a Group B member on June 30, 1990 who was absent from service on that date who returns to service on or after July 1, 1990.”

The descriptions give no cost of living adjustment rules, and the VSTRS description prints no benefit formula, so those points are left unsettled below. For the state tax side, see Vermont retirement taxes and does Vermont tax pensions.

When a benefit can start and how it is built

Both plans are defined benefit plans, and each description says the benefit is “specifically determined by a formula, which contains three variables”, service credit, age at retirement and average final compensation. “The final benefit is not dependent on the amount of contributions made to the plan.” A bigger contribution balance does not by itself raise the pension.

VSERS Group F, normal retirement: “You are eligible to receive a normal retirement benefit when you reach age 62 or have 30 years of service at any age, whichever comes first.” Early retirement: “You are eligible for an early retirement benefit after you have completed five years of service and have attained age 55.” “A 6% per year early retirement reduction will be imposed for each year under the age of 62.” The plan description does not mention Group F members first included on or after July 1, 2008. For them Vermont law, 3 V.S.A. § 455(a)(13)(D) and § 459(d)(2)(B), sets normal retirement at age 65 with five years of service or at 87 points of age plus service, and an early retirement reduction for each month under age 65 that depends on years of service; see Vermont VSERS early retirement.

The statute puts both tiers in one sentence, and it adds a service condition for later hires. 3 V.S.A. 455(a)(13)(D) says: “(D) with respect to a Group F member, the first day of the calendar month next following attainment of 62 years of age, and following completion of five years of creditable service for those members hired on or after July 1, 2004, or completion of 30 years of creditable service, whichever is earlier; and with respect to a Group F member first included in the membership of the system on or after July 1, 2008, the first day of the calendar month next following attainment of 65 years of age and following completion of five years of creditable service, or attainment of 87 points reflecting a combination of the age of the member and number of years of service, whichever is earlier.”

The early retirement words in the description are shorter than the statute. 3 V.S.A. 459(c)(3) says: “(3) Group F members. Any Group F member who has not attained age 62 but who has attained age 55 and has completed five years, but less than 30 years, of creditable service may retire on an early retirement allowance.” The 6% reduction in the description also has an exception for some corrections and hospital staff. 3 V.S.A. 459(d)(2)(A) says: “Group F members who have 20 years of service as facility employees of the Department of Corrections, as Department of Corrections employees who provide direct security and treatment services to offenders under supervision in the community, or as Woodside facility employees, or as Vermont State Hospital employees, or as employees of its successor in interest, who provide direct patient care shall receive an early retirement allowance that shall be equal to the normal retirement allowance at age 55 without reduction, provided the 20 years of service occurred in one or more of the following capacities as an employee of the Department of Corrections, Woodside facility, or the Vermont State Hospital, or its successor in interest: facility employee, community service center employee, or court and reparative service unit employee.”

VSTRS Group C: for a member with five or more years who leaves contributions in the system, the description says “you are guaranteed a retirement benefit at the normal retirement age of 62, or an early retirement at age 55”. The detailed rules are split by status on one date (“If on June 30, 2010 you were a member 57 years of age or had at least 25 years of service credit”), and the page text does not print what each group needs, so a Group C teacher should ask the Retirement Office.

The statute sorts Group C teachers by the June 30, 2010 date. For a member who had not reached 57 or 25 years of service by then, with five years of service, 16 V.S.A. 1940(a)(1)(B) says: “(B) a member who has not attained the age of 57 or completed 25 years of creditable service as of June 30, 2010 but who has five or more years of creditable service may allow his or her contributions to remain in the System and receive a retirement allowance commencing as early as age 55 or when the combination of the member’s age and years of creditable service totals 90, whichever comes first.” Service retirement for that same group is stated differently from the age 62 in the description. 16 V.S.A. 1937(a)(3) says: “(3) any Group C member not having attained the age of 57 or completed 25 years of creditable service as of June 30, 2010, may retire on a service retirement allowance on the first day of the calendar month next following the member’s separation from service, provided that the member shall have completed five years of creditable service and either has attained the age of 65 or has at least 90 years of combined age and years of creditable service at the date of the member’s retirement.”

Neither benefit starts on its own. VSERS: “Retirement benefits are not automatic; you must apply for them.” VSTRS: “Retirement benefits are not automatic, you must apply for them.”

The VSERS Group F formula, with computed examples

VSERS Group F defines the pay base: “Your AFC is the average of your highest three consecutive fiscal year earnings or the average of your last 36 months, whichever is higher.” The formula: “Group E Service x .0125 x AFC” for service before January 1, 1991, plus “Group F Service x .0167 x AFC” for service from that date. Those decimals are 1.25% and 1.67% of AFC per year of service. The ceiling: “By law, your maximum benefit cannot exceed 50% of your AFC.”

The statute states the second factor as a fraction, not as .0167, and applies this two-part formula to the earlier tier. 3 V.S.A. 459(b)(5)(A) says: “On and after January 1, 1995, upon normal retirement, a Group F member shall receive a normal retirement allowance equal to one and one-fourth of a percent of the member’s average final compensation times years of membership service prior to January 1, 1991, plus a pension that when added to an annuity shall be equal to one and two-thirds of a percent of the member’s average final compensation times years of membership service on and after January 1, 1991.” At one and two-thirds percent, 30 years of service is exactly 50 percent of AFC, so a computed $30,000 on an assumed $60,000 AFC, not the $30,060 that the rounded decimal gives. A Group F member first included on or after July 1, 2008 has a different formula. 3 V.S.A. 459(b)(5)(B) says: “A Group F member first included in the membership of the system on or after July 1, 2008, upon normal retirement, shall receive a normal retirement allowance equal to one and two-thirds of a percent of the member’s average final compensation times years of membership service.”

The AFC sentence in the description is also wider than the statute. 3 V.S.A. 455(a)(4)(A) says: “(A) For a Group A, Group F, or Group G member, the average annual earnable compensation of a member during the three consecutive fiscal years beginning July 1 and ending June 30 of creditable service affording the highest average, or during all of the years of creditable service if fewer than three years.” On what counts as pay, 3 V.S.A. 455(a)(4)(C) says: “For purposes of determining average final compensation for Group F or Group G members, unused annual or sick leave, termination bonuses, and any other compensation for service not actually performed shall be excluded.”

The description’s own example uses “if your three highest consecutive years of salary were $39,000, $42,000, and $45,000”, with 20 years of Group E service and 10 of Group F, and reports $17,514 annually, or “about $1,460 a month”. A computed check, 20 years times 1.25% times $42,000 plus 10 years times 1.67% times $42,000, gives a computed $17,514 a year, matching the description.

A computed example from assumed inputs, not a VSERS figure: 30 years, all Group F service, and an assumed AFC of $60,000. The formula gives 30 times 1.67% times $60,000, a computed $30,060 a year, while 50% of that AFC is a computed $30,000. On the description’s wording the lower figure is the most the maximum benefit can be. For a Group F member first included on or after July 1, 2008, 3 V.S.A. § 459(b) says “The maximum retirement allowance shall be 60 percent of average final compensation.”, so on that rule the computed $30,060 is under the cap.

A computed early retirement example from assumed inputs, not a VSERS figure, for a member first included before July 1, 2008: age 58 and 6 months (42 months under 62), 25 years of Group F service, assumed AFC $40,000. The unreduced benefit is 25 times 1.67% times $40,000, a computed $16,700 a year. The description reduces 6% per year under 62, half of 1% per month, so 42 months is a computed 21% and the member is paid a computed 79% of the unreduced figure: a computed $13,193 a year, about a computed $1,099 a month.

The same example for a Group F member first included on or after July 1, 2008 falls under a different reduction, subject to the exceptions in that paragraph. 3 V.S.A. 459(d)(2)(B)(iii) reads: “(iii) one-third of one percent for each month the member is under age 65, provided the member has accrued 25 years of service but less than 30 years of service at the time of early retirement;” Age 58 and 6 months is 78 months under 65, and one-third of one percent a month for 78 months is a computed 26%, so a computed 74% of the unreduced benefit would be paid, against the 79% above.

The election at retirement: VSERS Group F

The default matters. “The basic or maximum benefit, is payable for your life with no benefit or refund of contributions at your death.” “If you make no election, your benefit will be paid as a Maximum benefit.”

Option 1 pays back contributions, not a pension: “the balance of your accumulated contributions at retirement, less the sum of annuity payments made to you, will be paid in a lump sum to your designated beneficiary”. A computed example from assumed figures, not a VSERS figure: $90,000 of contributions at retirement less $35,000 of annuity payments received leaves a computed $55,000 for the beneficiary. Once payments reach the contribution balance, nothing remains.

The statute also says who is paid when no beneficiary is living. 3 V.S.A. 468(a)(1) continues: “or, in the absence of a written designation of beneficiary or when the designated beneficiary is deceased, the residual amount payable as a result of the death of the member after retirement shall be payable as follows: (A) In the case of an open estate, to the administrator or executor.” It then sets further rules for a closed estate and for an account under $1,000. On the pop-up forms, 3 V.S.A. 468(b) says: “(b) Any member who elects to receive a retirement allowance under the provisions of option 3 or 4 may elect to receive a benefit further reduced actuarially as prescribed by the Board with the added provision that on the basis of stipulations contained in a plan-approved domestic relations order or if the retired member survives the member’s nominated beneficiary, the retirement allowance that would have been payable during the member’s life computed pursuant to section 459, 460, or 461 of this title, whichever is applicable, shall be paid to the retired member during the remainder of the member’s lifetime.” That is, the statute offers the further-reduced pop-up on options 3 and 4, the survivorship forms.

The description’s example table starts from a $1,000 basic benefit for a member who “retired at age 62” with a beneficiary “two years younger”. The 100% regular option pays $807 to the member and $807 to the beneficiary, the 50% regular option $893 and $446, and the pop-ups $788 and $881 to the member. The footnote: “the member’s benefit pops up to $1,000 in this case”. A computed example from the stated averages and an assumed $2,000 maximum, not a VSERS figure: the 100% option would pay each of the two between a computed $1,500 and a computed $1,800 a month, and the survivor share of the 50% option would be between a computed $850 and a computed $950. The real figure comes from VSERS for the actual ages. See single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension and survivor benefit with a government pension.

Health cover is part of the choice: VSERS says “that coverage ceases at your death, unless you have chosen a survivorship option to allow for the monthly premium deduction from the beneficiary’s retirement check”.

The election at retirement: VSTRS Group C

Option 1: “All payments cease upon the death of the retiree.” Option 2 pays back contributions. “The beneficiary designation under this option may be changed subsequently, if the retiree so chooses.” For Option 3 the description says “one-half or 50% of the retiree’s monthly benefit payment continues to his/her beneficiary/survivor for their lifetime”. Options 4 and 5 use the same wording with 75% and 100%.

A computed example from an assumed reduced monthly benefit of $2,400, not a VSTRS figure: the survivor share is a computed $1,200 a month under Option 3, a computed $1,800 under Option 4 and a computed $2,400 under Option 5. The description prints no reduction for any option, so the $2,400 would have to come from VSTRS for the real ages.

What cannot be changed after retirement

VSTRS Group C is explicit: “The beneficiary/survivor designated by the retiree at their retirement cannot subsequently be changed.” Options 4 and 5 use the same words. Only the Option 2 beneficiary can be changed. On pop-ups: “if the beneficiary/survivor pre-decease the retiree, the benefits to the retiree shall increase to the amount of the retirement allowance which would have been payable under the Maximum Option”. The description also says “Benefits may also revert to Maximum based on the stipulations contained in a plan-approved Domestic Relations Order resulting from a divorce.” VSERS makes the same point, increasing the benefit “based on the stipulations contained in a domestic relations order”.

The VSERS Group F text read does not say whether a retirement election can be changed after it starts, so ask VSERS in writing before relying on a change.

Refund of contributions versus leaving them in the system

A member who leaves before retiring decides between cash now and a pension later. VSERS Group F: “A refund will cancel your retirement service credit and any right to future retirement benefits.” “You may always request a refund of your retirement plan contributions plus accumulated interest even after your account has been placed in a vested, deferred status.” VSTRS Group C: “You will lose your retirement service credit and any retirement benefit if you terminate and withdraw your accumulated contributions.” Both groups vest at five years: VSERS says “vested in the VSERS upon the attainment of five (5) years of creditable service” and VSTRS uses the same words with its own name.

If contributions stay, VSERS says “Your vested retirement benefit is payable to you at age 62 (or as early as age 55 with a penalty applied)”. See pension refund versus leaving it for the general trade.

The deferred vested benefit is defined by a formula, not by two ages. 3 V.S.A. 465(a) says: “In lieu of such return of contributions, any member who has completed five years of creditable service may allow his or her contributions to remain in the System and receive a deferred vested retirement allowance, commencing no earlier than the early retirement date, which shall be equal to: (1) an early or normal retirement allowance based on his or her average final compensation at his or her date of termination of service and the number of years of creditable service he or she would have completed had he or she remained in service to his or her normal retirement date; multiplied by (2) the ratio that the number of his or her years of creditable service at termination of service bears to the number of years of such service he or she would have completed had he or she remained in service to his or her normal retirement date, with early retirement reductions, if applicable.” For a Group F member first included on or after July 1, 2008 the normal retirement date in that formula is the later one in 3 V.S.A. 455(a)(13)(D), quoted above.

The clocks differ. VSERS Group F, after five years: “You may leave your contributions in your account for up to three (3) years before the VSERS will automatically put your account in a vested deferred status, if you have not returned to service.” Before five years: “You may leave your contributions in your account for up to three (3) consecutive years before the VSERS will automatically withdraw your membership and refund your contribution.” VSTRS Group C is longer. After five years: “You may leave your contributions in your account for up to six (6) years before the VSTRS will automatically put your account in a vested deferred status, if you have not returned to service by the seventh year of absence.” Before five years: “You may leave your contributions in your account for up to six out of seven consecutive years before the VSTRS will automatically withdraw your membership and refund your contribution.”

The statutes state the effect as the end of membership. For VSERS, 3 V.S.A. 457(d) says: “(d) Should any Group A, C, D, F, or G member who has less than five years of creditable service in any period of five consecutive years after last becoming a member be absent from service more than three years or should the member withdraw the member’s contributions, or become a beneficiary or die, the member shall then cease to be a member.” For VSTRS, 16 V.S.A. 1933(d) says: “(d) Should any Group A or Group C member who has less than five years of creditable service in any period of seven consecutive years after last becoming a member be absent from service more than six years, or should a member withdraw the member’s accumulated contributions or die or retire under the provisions of this chapter, the member shall thereupon cease to be a member.”

Moving between VSERS and VSTRS: “provided that they have not received a refund of contributions or any retirement benefit payments”, so a refund first removes the transfer option.

The statute sets a timing rule as well. 3 V.S.A. 495(b) says: “(b) Any person who is a member of a Retirement System as defined in subsection (a) of this section may transfer his or her membership to another Retirement System, as defined in subsection (a) of this section, within one year after acceptance of office or employment that makes it possible or mandatory for him or her to participate in such other Retirement System if such acceptance of office or employment would make it impossible for him or her to continue as a contributing member of the Retirement System of which he or she has been a member.”

What a refund costs in tax

For a member who takes a refund, VSERS Group F says “they are subject to a mandatory 20% federal tax withholding plus a possible 10% excise tax”. “The only way to avoid the 20% mandatory withholding on a withdrawal is to direct the Retirement System to roll over the taxable monies to another qualified tax-sheltered plan.” VSTRS Group C uses the same text.

A computed example from an assumed $20,000 taxable portion, not a VSERS or VSTRS figure: 20% withholding is a computed $4,000, leaving a computed $16,000 in cash. If the possible 10% excise tax also applied because the member was under 59 1/2, that would be a computed $2,000, a separate tax settled on the return. Confirm the taxable portion and the rules with a tax preparer and the Retirement Office before requesting a refund.

What the IRS adds on tax

A refund or lump sum from a public pension is a distribution, so the IRS rules apply on top of VSERS and VSTRS’s own. On withholding, the IRS says that a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you “is subject to mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%), even if you intend to roll it over later”, and that if you roll it over yourself “you’ll have to add funds from other sources equal to the amount withheld”. Both Vermont descriptions say that a direct rollover of the taxable amount is the way to avoid the mandatory 20% withholding. The rollover clock, if the money is paid to you: “you have 60 days from the date you receive it to roll it over to another eligible retirement plan”.

On early distributions the IRS says “the law imposes a 10% additional tax on certain early distributions from certain retirement plans”. Its list of exceptions includes “Distributions made to you after you separated from service with your employer after attainment of age 55” and “Distributions made to a qualified public safety employee from a governmental plan”. Whether an exception fits a particular refund depends on your own plan and facts, so confirm it with a tax preparer before you take one.

Buying or restoring service credit

Both plans allow purchases. VSERS Group F: “You may purchase retirement credit for a number of situations including service in the military, Peace Corps, or VISTA”. VSTRS Group C adds “service as a state or municipal employee, teaching in another state, teaching in a public or private school”.

The statute is narrower for school service. 16 V.S.A. 1944(b)(11) says: “(11) Any Group A or Group C member who rendered service in the capacity of a teacher, as defined by the Board, in an approved public or independent school that was not a part of the System may elect to have included in the member’s creditable service all or part of any period of service in such approved school.” “No application for credit under this subdivision shall be granted if at the time of application, the member has a vested right to retirement benefits in another retirement system based upon that service.” For service outside Vermont, the subdivision read for this page, 16 V.S.A. 1944(b)(6), is written for a Group A member: “(6) Any Group A member who has rendered service outside the State in the capacity of a teacher and as approved by the Board, or who was a teacher in Vermont on July 1, 1947 and elected not to join the System but who has subsequently joined, may: (A) Elect to have included in the member’s creditable service all or part of any period of service outside the State.”

The rules for paying match. “Under the law purchase payments must be completed within a five-year period prior to retirement in equal annual installments.” “Service credit documentation must be reviewed by our office and determined eligible prior to submitting payment.”

For VSTRS the statute makes installments an option that needs approval, not a requirement. 16 V.S.A. 1944(b)(16) says: “(16) Any time a member is required to make a single contribution in connection with an election under this subsection, a member may, with the approval of the Board, contribute over a maximum of five years in installments of equal value toward the purchase of service.” It also covers a payment left unfinished at retirement. 16 V.S.A. 1944(b)(16) continues: “Any member who retires before completing payment as approved by the Board for the purchase of service under subdivisions (6) through (14) of this subsection shall receive pro rata credit for service purchased before the date of retirement, but if the member so elects at the time of retirement, the member may pay as much in a single sum as is necessary to provide full credit at that time.”

Two purchases are specific. The first raises the multiplier on older service: VSERS says “You may also make a contribution to increase the benefit percentage for Group F service before January 1, 1991 from 1.25% to 1.67%.” VSTRS says “You may also make a contribution to increase the benefit percentage for Group B service before July 1, 1990 from 1.25% to 1.67%.” The second is air time. VSERS Group F: “you also may purchase up to five additional years”. Limits: “Total purchase for non-military service is limited to ten years of credit, and in no case can a combined total of more than twenty years of service be purchased.” VSTRS adds “All of these purchase opportunities are cost neutral to the system.” The VSERS text read does not say that, so ask the Retirement Office for a VSERS cost. See pension buyback calculator to compare cost with the added benefit.

Credit lost to a withdrawal: VSERS says “You may restore service credit from a prior membership in the System, which was lost due to a withdrawal.”

Working after retirement and cost-of-living adjustments

VSERS Group F, for a retiree who returns to work for the state as a classified or exempt employee: “their retirement benefit will be frozen”. VSTRS Group C is tied to earnings: the benefit freezes for a retiree who returns as a teacher or administrator in Vermont, and the trigger is to “earn more than 60% of the current average teacher’s earnings or work more than the maximum period for substitute teachers”. The allowable amount changes each year, so confirm it with the Retirement Office.

On the VSERS return-to-work rule, the statute says the allowance stops rather than freezes. 3 V.S.A. 463(a) says: “(a) Should a disability beneficiary be restored to service or should any other beneficiary be restored to service, his or her retirement allowance shall cease, and the beneficiary shall again become a member of the Retirement System.” It also caps the later pension. 3 V.S.A. 463(a) continues: “However, if such beneficiary is restored to membership after the attainment of 55 years of age, his or her pension upon subsequent retirement shall not exceed the sum of the pension that he or she was receiving immediately prior to his or her last restoration to membership and the pension that may have accrued on account of membership service since his or her last restoration to membership, provided that the rate percent of his or her total pension on his or her subsequent retirement shall not exceed the rate he or she would have received had he or she remained in service during the period of prior retirement.”

On the VSTRS rule, 16 V.S.A. 1939(a) says: “(a) In any fiscal year in which a beneficiary resumes service, as that term is defined in section 1931 of this title, he or she shall again become a member of the System, shall contribute at the rate established for members of his or her group and shall not be entitled to receive a retirement allowance, if he or she is: (1) compensated in excess of the allowable number of days per school year as established by the Board for substitute teaching; or (2) receives compensation in excess of 60 percent of the average compensation in the teacher System.” On a later retirement, 16 V.S.A. 1939(c) says: “Upon subsequent retirement of a person who once again becomes a member under subsection (a) of this section, the beneficiary’s former retirement allowance shall be restored, but the beneficiary shall not be entitled to cost of living adjustments for the period during which he or she was restored to service. In addition to the former retirement allowance, a beneficiary shall be entitled to a retirement allowance separately computed for the period beginning with his or her last restoration to service for which the member has made a contribution.”

Neither description states how a cost-of-living adjustment works. Each page shows only a link titled “2027 COLA Memo Announcement”, so this page makes no claim about its size, timing, cap or eligibility.

What this page could not settle

• The pages read do not state the VSTRS Group C benefit formula, so no VSTRS benefit is computed here.
• The pages read do not state any cost-of-living adjustment rule, rate, cap or eligibility for either group.
• The pages read do not state the reduction for any VSTRS Group C option, and VSERS Group F gives only average ranges and one example table.
• The pages read do not state whether a VSERS Group F retirement option can be changed after retirement.
• The pages read do not state the interest rate credited on contributions.
• The pages read do not state the cost of buying service credit or restoring withdrawn credit; they say the Retirement Office provides it.
• The pages read do not describe a lump sum retirement option or a deferred retirement option program.

Common mistakes

• Taking the VSERS Group F Maximum, or making no election, and assuming a spouse is protected; the Maximum pays nothing at death and is the default.
• Electing a VSTRS Group C survivor option and expecting to change the named survivor later.
• Treating a VSERS Group F average reduction as the actual figure; it depends on the ages.
• Taking a refund and then expecting to transfer credit between VSERS and VSTRS.
• Asking for a refund without allowing for the 20% mandatory withholding unless the taxable amount is rolled over.
• Starting a service purchase late; payments must be finished within five years before retirement.

Related on this site: Vermont retirement taxes, does Vermont tax pensions, single-life versus joint-and-survivor pension, survivor benefit with a government pension, pension refund versus leaving it, pension buyback calculator and public pension retirement decisions by system.

Sources

• Vermont Treasurer, VSERS Group F plan description: https://www.vermonttreasurer.gov/vsers/vsers-group-plans/vsers-group-f-plan-description
• Vermont Treasurer, VSTRS Group C plan description: https://www.vermonttreasurer.gov/vstrs/vstrs-group-plans/vstrs-group-c-plan-description
• IRS, Topic no. 413, Rollovers from retirement plans (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
• IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans other than IRAs (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc558

Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 2, 2026. General information from each system’s own published materials, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your own member statement and the system’s current rules decide your benefit, and a pension counsellor at the system or a fee-only adviser is the right place to confirm anything consequential.