Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Missouri MOSERS members first employed on or after January 1, 2011 (MSEP 2011) can retire at age 67 with at least 5 years of service, or at least age 55 with age and service equaling 90 or more (the Rule of 90). Early retirement is age 62 with at least 5 years of service, and the base benefit is reduced by one-half of one percent for each month before normal retirement age. Five years of credited service vests a member, and the multiplier is 1.7%.
Which plan you are in
MOSERS’s handbook defines MSEP 2011 members as those “First employed in a MOSERS benefit-eligible position on or after January 1, 2011, or elected a buyout and returned to state employment.”
Normal retirement
MSEP 2011 members reach normal retirement at “Age 67 with at least 5 years of service” or at “At least age 55 with age and service equaling 90 or more (Rule of 90)”. For the older MSEP 2000 plan: “Age 62 with at least 5 years of service” or “At least age 48 with age and service equaling 80 or more (Rule of 80)”.
Early retirement
MSEP 2011 members may retire early at “Age 62 with at least 5 years of service prior to leaving state employment”. MSEP 2000 members at “Age 57 with at least 5 years of service”. “If you elect early retirement, your base benefit will be reduced by one-half of one percent (.005) for each month your age is younger than your normal retirement age.”
Vesting
“In order to qualify for a pension benefit, you must have at least five years of credited service.”
What the pension is based on
For MSEP 2011 and MSEP 2000: “The multiplier is 1.7% (.017)”. Final average pay is “The average of your highest 36 consecutive months of compensation”.
A worked example with invented numbers
Take an invented MSEP 2011 member with 30 years of credited service who retires at normal retirement age. That is 30 years at 1.7%, or 51% (computed) of a final average salary of $60,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $30,600 a year (computed).
Now take an invented MSEP 2011 member with 10 years of credited service who retires early at 62, which is 60 months before age 67. That is 10 years at 1.7%, or 17% (computed) of a final average salary of $60,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $10,200 a year (computed). The reduction is 60 months younger than normal retirement age at one-half of one percent each, which is 30% (computed). The pension after the reduction is $7,140 a year (computed).
What the documents do not say
The oldest plan, MSEP, is not covered beyond naming it, because its row in the handbook prints with unreadable bullets in the text read here. The temporary benefit that Rule of 90 retirees can receive until age 62 is mentioned on the MSEP 2011 plan page but is not modeled. The plan page notes that MSEP 2011 vesting was 10 years for members who left state employment in earlier years; this page states the current five-year rule. Judges, legislators, statewide elected officials and the uniformed Water Patrol are not covered.
Common mistakes
- Reading 90 as an age. The Rule of 90 is age plus service, and MSEP 2011 also requires at least age 55.
- Applying MSEP 2000’s Rule of 80 with a minimum age of 48 to a member first employed after 2010.
- Forgetting the reduction. The base benefit drops one-half of one percent for each month before normal retirement age.
Related: Missouri MOSERS retirement decisions, the Missouri MOSERS COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether Missouri taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- MOSERS, General Employees’ Retirement Handbook (MSEP, MSEP 2000, MSEP 2011): mosers.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.