Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: In the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP), the summary plan description for 2013 Tier members says you vest at five years of service credit. A 2013 Tier member can retire at age 55 after leaving University employment with at least five years of service credit, the plan document gives the same age 55 and five years for the 2016 Tier, and it sets normal retirement age at 65 for both tiers. The 1976 and Modified 2013 Tiers can retire at age 50, with normal retirement age 60. There is no flat reduction rate: the age factor depends on age in years and months, so retiring before normal age gives a smaller pension.
Vesting and the earliest retirement
The summary plan description for 2013 Tier members says: “You must earn five or more years of service credit to be vested”. On when you can retire: “You can elect to retire and receive benefits at any time after you become eligible-that is, when you reach age 55 and leave University employment with at least five years of service credit”.
Normal retirement age by tier
The plan document defines it: “age 60 with respect to a 1976 Tier Benefit and a Modified 2013 Tier Benefit and age 65 with respect to a 2013 Tier Benefit and a 2016 Tier Benefit, provided the Member has a minimum of five years of Service Credit”.
The plan document’s early retirement rules
For the 2013 and 2016 Tiers, the plan document allows retirement for a member “who has attained age 55 and earned at least five years of Service Credit, including service credit under PERS as a University employee”. For the 1976 and Modified 2013 Tiers, for a member “who has attained age 50 and earned at least five years of Service Credit”.
Why retiring earlier gives less
“The age factor is based on your age in complete years and months on the date of your retirement”. “Generally, at age 65, an inactive member will have attained the maximum UCRP benefit payable under the Plan”.
What the pension is based on
The calculation uses the age factor and the pay history. “calculated over the highest 36 continuous months preceding retirement”. The SPD’s own example: “A member retires at age 65 (age factor .0250), with 20 years of service credit”.
A worked example with invented numbers
Take an invented 2013 Tier member who retires at age 65 with 24 years of service credit. That is 24 years at an age factor of .0250, or 60% (computed) of a final average salary of $80,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $48,000 a year (computed).
What the documents do not say
The age factor chart (a PDF table running from age 55 to age 65) is not quoted, and no early retirement reduction percentage is printed in prose. The plan document’s 1976 Tier early retirement sentence carries a further clause for members who joined before July 1989, which is not worked through here. Safety and Tier Two members are not covered.
Common mistakes
- Treating age 55 as the age of the full benefit. The age factor reaches its maximum at 65.
- Assuming one rule for every tier. The plan document sets normal age 60 for the 1976 and Modified 2013 Tiers and 65 for the 2013 and 2016 Tiers.
- Looking for a percentage reduction. UCRP builds the reduction into the age factor.
Related: UCRP retirement decisions, the UCRP COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether California taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- University of California, UC Retirement Plan Summary Plan Description for 2013 Tier Members: ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu
- University of California, University of California Retirement Plan (plan document): ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu
- 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.