Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: For Minnesota PERA Coordinated Plan members hired on or after July 1, 1989, full retirement age matches full retirement age under Social Security but no later than age 66, and an active member needs a minimum of one year of public service at or over that age. You may retire early at age 55 once vested, with an actuarial reduction of about 6% per year before full retirement age. Active members working on or after July 1, 2023 vest after three years. The pension is 1.7% of your high-five salary for each year of service.
Which plan this covers
“Learn more about PERA’s four defined benefit plans: the Coordinated Plan, Police & Fire Plan, Correctional Plan, and Probation & Telecommunicator Plan.” “If you were hired on or after July 1, 1989, only the Level formula is used.”
Full retirement age
“For those hired after that date, full retirement age matches full retirement age under Social Security, but no later than age 66.” “A minimum of one year of public service is required to qualify for a retirement benefit for active members at or over their full retirement age.” For members hired earlier: “Full retirement age for individuals first hired into a position covered by PERA or another Minnesota public retirement plan prior to July 1, 1989, is 65.”
Early retirement
PERA’s handbook says you may be eligible for a reduced benefit if: “You are at least age 55 and have met vesting requirements”. It describes an actuarial reduction, “which is about 6% per year, for each year you retire prior to full retirement age for Social Security (maximum age 66)”.
Vesting
“Active Members. If you are currently working in Minnesota public service on or after July 1, 2023, your vesting requirement is three years (36 service credits).” “If you are currently working over your full retirement age, your vesting requirement is one year (12 months).”
Members hired before July 1, 1989
The PERA handbook says individuals hired before July 1, 1989 also qualify “for a full, unreduced pension when their age plus years of public service total at least 90 (Rule of 90), regardless of age”. “If you do not qualify for the Rule of 90 or are not age 65, your pension will be reduced by 3% for each year you are under age 65. The reduction is from age 62 if you have 30 or more years of service.”
What the pension is based on
Under the Level method, your benefit is computed using “a level formula of 1.7% of your high-five salary for each year of service”. “Average salary is derived from your five highest-paid consecutive years of salary, no matter when or in which plan it was earned.”
A worked example with invented numbers
Take an invented Coordinated Plan member hired after July 1, 1989 with 30 years of service who retires at full retirement age. That is 30 years at 1.7%, or 51% (computed) of a final average salary of $70,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $35,700 a year (computed).
What the documents do not say
The reduction factors by age and years of service for members hired after 1989 are printed in a table in the handbook, so no early retirement example is computed. The roster for this page calls the plan the General Plan; the handbook and PERA’s plan page call the equivalent plan the Coordinated Plan, and this page rests on that equivalence. Vesting for inactive members who left in earlier years is not summarized. The Police and Fire, Correctional, and Probation and Telecommunicator plans are not covered.
Common mistakes
- Applying the Rule of 90 to a member hired after July 1, 1989. PERA ties it to members hired before that date.
- Using age 65 as the full retirement age for everyone. For later hires it matches Social Security’s, capped at 66.
- Applying the 3% reduction from age 65 to a later hire. The handbook describes it for members who do not qualify for the Rule of 90 or are not age 65, and says later hires use only the Level formula.
Related: Minnesota PERA retirement decisions, the Minnesota PERA COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether Minnesota taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Public Employees Retirement Association of Minnesota, Pension Plans: www.mnpera.org
- Public Employees Retirement Association of Minnesota, Coordinated Plan Handbook: www.mnpera.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.