Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: For Alaska Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) members in the defined benefit plan, the Division of Retirement and Benefits sets normal retirement at age 60 for Tier II and Tier III and age 55 for Tier I, with early retirement at 55 or 50. Vesting takes 5 paid-up years in PERS and 8 in the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS). This plan is closed to anyone who first entered on or after July 1, 2006; those members are in the defined contribution plan, which this page does not cover.
Which tier you are in
PERS members are sorted by when they first entered: “Before July 1, 1986, are in Tier I;” “On or after July 1, 1986, but before July 1, 1996, are in Tier II;” “On or after July 1, 1996, but before July 1, 2006, are in Tier III;” For TRS: “Before July 1, 1990, are in Tier I; On or after July 1, 1990, but before July 1, 2006, are in Tier II; Individuals who first entered TRS on or after July 1, 2006 are members of the TRS DCR Plan .” “Individuals who first entered PERS on or after July 1, 2006 are members of the PERS DCR Plan .”
PERS: vesting and retirement ages
“You will be vested when you have at least five paid-up years of creditable PERS service.” “Age 60 for normal retirement or age 55 for early retirement if you first entered the PERS on or after July 1, 1986 (Tier II or Tier III).” “Age 55 for normal retirement or age 50 for early retirement if you first entered the PERS before July 1, 1986 (Tier I); or”.
PERS: early retirement and any-age retirement
“Under early retirement your monthly benefit is actuarially reduced based on your age. The closer you are to normal retirement age, the smaller the reduction. The early retirement reduction is effective for the lifetime of the benefit.” The handbook says you may be eligible to retire at any age and receive a normal, unreduced monthly pension if you have “Thirty paid-up years of PERS membership service;” or “Twenty paid-up years of PERS service as a peace officer or fire fighter.” The handbook adds that military credit may not be used to satisfy the 20 or 30 years needed to retire.
TRS: vesting and retirement ages
“You will be vested in the TRS when you have at least eight years of paid-up years of membership service or 12 school years of part-time membership service or 12 school years in which the member earned part-time or full-time membership service.” “Age 60 for normal retirement or age 55 for early retirement if you first entered the TRS on or after July 1, 1990 (Tier II).” For TRS the handbook says you may be eligible to retire at any age with an unreduced pension if you have “20 paid-up years of TRS membership service;” The handbook lists three other routes: 20 paid-up years of combined TRS membership and Alaska BIA service if the last five years are membership years, 20 paid-up years of combined part-time and full-time TRS membership service, or 25 paid-up years of credited service if the last five years are TRS membership service. For Tier I (first entered the TRS before July 1, 1990) the handbook line gives age 55 for normal retirement and age 50 for early retirement.
What the pension is based on
For PERS, the Division’s formula for all members other than peace officers and fire fighters is “2% for all service earned up to 10 years times AMS, plus 2.25% per year for all service over 10 years, but less than 20 years times AMS, plus 2.5% per year for all service over 20 years times AMS”. “Your AMS is determined by adding together the compensation you earned during your five highest consecutive payroll years and dividing the total by the number of months and partial months worked during that same time period.” The Division gives peace officers and fire fighters 2% for their first 10 years and 2.5% for service over 10 years, and the handbook says service earned before July 1, 1986 is calculated at 2%. The average monthly salary averaging period depends on the group: the Division’s page uses the five highest consecutive payroll years for Tier III members other than peace officers and fire fighters, and the three highest consecutive payroll years for Tier I and II members and for Tier III peace officers and fire fighters. For TRS: “2% times up to the first 20 years of service credit times ABS, plus 2.5% times all service credit years over 20 times ABS”. The handbook words the TRS 2.5% step as applying to service years over 20 that were earned after 1990.
A worked example with invented numbers
Take an invented PERS member (not a peace officer or fire fighter, with all service after June 30, 1986) with 25 years of service, shaped like the formula: the first 10 years at 2%, the next 10 at 2.25% and the last 5 at 2.5%. That is 10 years at 2% plus 10 years at 2.25% plus 5 years at 2.5%, or 55% (computed) of a final average salary of $60,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $33,000 a year (computed).
What the documents do not say
The early retirement reduction is printed as an actuarial reduction with its factors in an appendix table; the PERS handbook appendix prints those factors and this page does not reproduce them, and the TRS factors are not readable in the text archived. Both handbooks are 2011 editions and the Division’s web page shows a last-modified stamp of 08/12/26, so changes since 2011 are not confirmed. The Alaska Statutes could not be archived because the legislature site loads statute text with scripts. The defined contribution plans for hires from July 1, 2006 are not covered. The Division’s web page states the TRS tier boundary inconsistently; the handbook says service before July 1, 1990 is Tier I. Legislative employee rules and disability and survivor benefits are not covered.
Common mistakes
- Looking for the defined benefit rules as a new hire. Anyone who first entered PERS or TRS on or after July 1, 2006 is in the defined contribution plan.
- Using one vesting number for both systems. PERS vests at 5 paid-up years and TRS at 8 (or 12 school years of part-time service under the part-time alternative in the handbook).
- Assuming the early retirement reduction is a flat percentage. The handbook says it is actuarial and shrinks as the member nears normal retirement age.
Related: Alaska PERS and TRS retirement decisions, the Alaska PERS and TRS COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether Alaska taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits, PERS Information Handbook: drb.alaska.gov
- Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits, PERS and TRS Defined Benefit Plan web page: drb.alaska.gov
- Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits, TRS Information Handbook: drb.alaska.gov
- 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.