Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Minnesota TRA members who started covered service on or after July 1, 1989 are vested after three years of service credit. Normal retirement age for active Tier II members is 65, and vested members can apply for a reduced benefit as early as age 55. The reduction is 4.0% for each year from age 55 through age 58 and 7.0% for each year from age 59 through age 65. The pension is 1.9% for each year of service rendered on or after July 1, 2006.
Who this covers
“The following information generally applies if you are actively serving in a TRA-covered position and you started covered service on or after July 1, 1989.”
Normal retirement age
“Normal retirement age for all active and eligible deferred Tier II members is 65.” “Normal retirement age for Tier I members (hired before July 1, 1989) is age 65.” “Normal retirement age for Tier II members (hired after June 30, 1989) who terminated service on or before May 24, 2023 is 66.”
Vesting and early retirement
“You are eligible, or “vested,” to receive a lifetime monthly retirement benefit after you have earned three years of service credit.” “Vested members can apply for a reduced retirement benefit as early as age 55, and an unreduced retirement benefit at their normal retirement age, which for most members is age 65.”
The reduction
“The reduction is 4.0% for each year from age 55 through age 58, and 7.0% for each year from age 59 through age 65.” “If you retire at age 60 or older with 30 years of service credit, the reduction is lowered to approximately 2.5-3.0% for each year from your age at retirement to age 65.” TRA’s early retirement page adds: “Beginning June 30, 2025, eligible members who are age 60 or older with at least 30 years of service credit may qualify for more favorable reduction factors under the Level formula.”
What the pension is based on
“The percentage multiplier is 1.7% for each year of service rendered before July 1, 2006, and 1.9% for each year of service rendered on or after July 1, 2006.” “Your high-five average salary is the highest average fiscal year salary over five successive years of service credit.”
A worked example with invented numbers
Take an invented Tier II member with 30 years of service credit, all rendered on or after July 1, 2006, who retires at 65. That is 30 years at 1.9%, or 57% (computed) of a final average salary of $70,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $39,900 a year (computed).
What the documents do not say
These rules come from three TRA web pages; the Member Handbook of Benefits and Services and the statute were not read. The pages do not print a rule of 90 for Tier II, and a Tier I rule of 90 is not covered here because it was not read. The 60-and-30 provision applies only to members who were active in a Minnesota public retirement system on May 23, 2025, so it does not reach someone hired later. The Basic plan and the Tier I step formula are not covered.
Common mistakes
- Using the 1.9% multiplier for service before July 1, 2006. TRA applies 1.7% to that service.
- Assuming the 60-and-30 reduction applies to everyone. TRA limits it to members who qualify under the provision, which depends on being active in a Minnesota public retirement system on May 23, 2025.
- Treating age 66 as the Tier II normal age for current members. TRA gives 66 only for Tier II members who terminated service on or before May 24, 2023.
Related: Minnesota TRA retirement decisions, the Minnesota TRA COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether Minnesota taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association, Pension basics: minnesotatra.org
- Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association, Nearing retirement: minnesotatra.org
- Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association, Early retirement: minnesotatra.org
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 411, Pensions: the General Rule and the Simplified Method: www.irs.gov
Read from the primary documents linked above on October 30, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the IRS itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.