Updated October 22, 2026. Quick answer: The Delaware State Employees’ Pension Plan summary allows an early (reduced) pension at 15 years of credited service and age 55, or at 25 years at any age. The reduction is .2% for each month short for employees first hired on or before 12/31/2011 and .4% a month for those hired on or after 1/1/2012.
What this covers
The summary’s eligibility table has a row headed “EARLY/REDUCED”. This page quotes that row for both hire-date groups. For the wider choices, see Delaware state pension retirement decisions and public pension retirement decisions.
What the plan says, by hire date
Each row is the summary’s own wording.
| Group and route | What the plan says |
|---|---|
| Hired on or before 12/31/2011, reduced age | “Fifteen (15) years of credited service and has attained age 55, Reduced Age pension payable shall be reduced by .2% percent for each month the employee is under age 60; OR” |
| Hired on or before 12/31/2011, reduced service | “Twenty-five (25) years of credited service at any age; Reduced Service pension payable shall be reduced by .2% percent for each month the employee has less than thirty (30) years.” |
| Hired on or after 1/1/2012, reduced age | “Fifteen (15) years of credited service and has attained age 55, Reduced Age pension payable shall be reduced by .4% percent for each month the employee is under age 60; OR” |
| Hired on or after 1/1/2012, reduced service | “Twenty-five (25) years of credited service at any age; Reduced service pension payable shall be reduced by .4% percent for each month the employee has less than thirty (30) years.” |
The reduction, worked through
The summary states the reduction as a rate per month and gives no table of results. These figures are computed here from its printed rates, month by month, and are not printed by the Office of Pensions.
| Case | Hired on or before 12/31/2011 (.2% a month) | Hired on or after 1/1/2012 (.4% a month) |
|---|---|---|
| Age 55 (60 months under 60) | computed: 60 months x .2% = 12% | computed: 60 months x .4% = 24% |
| Age 58 (24 months under 60) | computed: 24 months x .2% = 4.8% | computed: 24 months x .4% = 9.6% |
| 27 years of service (36 months under 30) | computed: 36 months x .2% = 7.2% | computed: 36 months x .4% = 14.4% |
| 25 years of service (60 months under 30) | computed: 60 months x .2% = 12% | computed: 60 months x .4% = 24% |
A member with 25 years who retires at once is 60 months short of the 30 year mark, so the computed cut is 12% under the older rate and 24% under the newer one. The months short are counted from the printed thresholds, age 60 for the reduced age route and 30 years for the reduced service route.
The unreduced routes, for comparison
The same table lists the full pension routes. For employees hired on or before 12/31/2011: “Five (5) years of credited service and has attained age 62, or” “Fifteen (15) years of credited service and has attained age 60, or” “Thirty (30) years of credited service at any age.”
Vested, terminated employees
A member who has left state service can still receive a pension later. The table gives a different rule for each hire-date group. For employees initially hired on or before 12/31/2011: “Five (5) years consecutive credited service and has attained age 62.” For employees initially hired on or after 1/1/2012: “Ten (10) years credited service (must have five (5) consecutive) and has attained age 65.” The statute states these routes without a consecutive-years condition. Title 29, section 5522(b) lets a former employee with a vested pension start at “Age 60 if credited service is equal to or greater than 20 years and includes service prior to July 1, 1976; or (2) Age 62 if credited service is equal to or greater than 5 years.” Section 5522(g) says “A former post-2011 employee with a vested right to a service pension shall become eligible to receive such pension, computed in accordance with this chapter beginning with the first month after the former post-2011 employee’s attainment of age 65 if credited service is equal to or greater than 10 years.” Delaware’s tax rules on pension income are on how Delaware taxes retirement income.
What the plan summary does not say
The summary does not print a dollar example of a reduced pension and does not say how the reduction interacts with a survivor option. Use the Office of Pensions estimate tool or ask the office for a calculation at your own dates.
Edition
This page reads the Delaware Office of Pensions, State Employees’ Pension Plan Summary Plan Description (2026), the file the Delaware Office of Pensions served on 2026-10-22. It is a summary, so the Delaware Code and your own pension account control over it, and the Office of Pensions is the place to confirm your own eligibility.
Common mistakes
- Using the older rate for a newer hire. The two groups differ: “reduced by .4% percent for each month the employee is under age 60” for those initially hired on or after 1/1/2012.
- Counting the reduction from the wrong threshold. The reduced service route is measured against “less than thirty (30) years”, not age 60.
- Assuming 25 years always avoids the cut. The 25 year route is the reduced service route unless the employee falls under the corrections or 9-1-1 rows of the table.
Related: Delaware state pension retirement decisions, and public pension retirement decisions.
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Answer againSources
- Delaware Office of Pensions, State Employees’ Pension Plan Summary Plan Description (2026): open.omb.delaware.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS, Topic no. 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS, Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions: www.irs.gov
Read from the pension system handbooks linked above on October 22, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a pension system or a qualified professional is the right place to confirm anything consequential.