Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: Colorado PERA members who began membership on or after January 1, 2020 can receive a monthly retirement benefit at age 65, or at age 64 or older when age plus years of service credit equals 94 or more with at least five years of service credit. A member with less than five years of service credit is eligible at age 65 if contributions were made for sixty months. Retiring before full eligibility produces an actuarially reduced benefit. A benefit vests on five years of service credit, and the pension is 2.5% of highest average salary for each year of service. The booklet and the statute list further age and service combinations in tables, which this page does not copy.
Who this covers
Colorado PERA law reads: “Members, except state troopers, who were not members, inactive members, or retirees on December 31, 2019, who have met the age and service requirements stated in the following table shall, upon written application and approval of the board, receive service retirement benefits”.
Age 65 and the rule of 94
“You are eligible to receive a monthly retirement benefit when you reach age 65 or meet the following age and service requirements.” The statute adds: “Members who are eligible for a benefit pursuant to this subsection (1.9) and who are sixty-four years of age or older shall, upon written application and approval of the board, receive service retirement benefits”. “if they have at least five years of service credit and if the number of years of their age plus the number of years of their service credit equals ninety-four years or more.”
Under five years of service
“Members with less than five years of service credit shall be eligible for service retirement benefits pursuant to section 24-51-605.5 upon reaching sixty-five years of age if contributions were made for sixty months.”
Vesting
““Vested benefit” means an entitlement to a future monthly benefit which is earned upon completion of five years of service credit.”
Retiring before full eligibility
“For a member or inactive member who retires prior to reaching eligibility for a full service retirement benefit pursuant to section 24‑51‑602, a reduced service retirement benefit shall be the option 1 benefit for service retirement”. “as calculated according to the formula set forth in section 24‑51‑603, reduced by an actuarially determined percentage to ensure that, as of the effective date of retirement, the benefit is the actuarial equivalent of the service retirement benefit.”
What the pension is based on
“If you meet the eligibility requirements for a service retirement, your defined benefit will be 2.5% of your HAS for each year of service credit up to 100%.” “The basic formula for a full service, single-life retirement benefit is: your highest average salary x 2.5% x your years of service = your monthly lifetime benefit amount.” “Each year used in the calculation is a period of 12 consecutive months of service credit during which PERA contributions were paid.” “If you did not have five years of service credit as of January 1, 2020, or if you began PERA membership on or after that date, five years of your highest salaries will be used.”
A worked example with invented numbers
Take an invented member who began PERA membership after January 1, 2020 and retires with 25 years of service credit. That is 25 years at 2.5%, or 62.5% (computed) of a final average salary of $80,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $50,000 a year (computed).
What the documents do not say
The age and service combinations in PERA’s own booklet and in the statute, such as the reduced-retirement rows, appear only as table cells, so this page does not copy them. The statute table and the 2020 fact sheet differ on whether age 65 needs five years of service, and this page quotes the statute’s rule for members with less than five years separately. No per-year reduction percentage is printed in prose for this cohort. Earlier hire cohorts, safety officers, the Denver Public Schools structure and the Local Government and Judicial divisions are not covered. The statute is the 2025 compilation.
Common mistakes
- Applying the earlier hire cohorts’ rules of 80, 85, 88 or 90 to a member who began after 2019. This page covers the rule of 94.
- Treating 94 as an age. It is age plus years of service credit, and the member must be at least 64.
- Expecting a printed percentage for early retirement. The statute says the reduction is an actuarially determined percentage.
Related: Colorado PERA retirement decisions, the Colorado PERA COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether Colorado taxes pensions.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Talk to an advisor about retirement income
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore advisor help with retirement income
Considering financial advice? Request an adviser introduction with no obligation to hire.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Requesting an introduction is free. Submitting the form shares your contact details with advisers, so expect calls and texts. Advisers pay for introductions. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you hire anyone. A match is not guaranteed.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- Colorado PERA, Colorado PERA Law, includes legislation enacted in 2025 (C.R.S. Title 24, Article 51): content.copera.org
- Colorado PERA, Your PERA Benefits: A Summary of the Colorado PERA Defined Benefit Plan: content.copera.org
- Colorado PERA, How Your PERA Benefit is Calculated: copera.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.