Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: In the State Universities Retirement System of Illinois, a Tier II member (first a participant on or after January 1, 2011) in the Traditional and Portable Pension Plans can retire with no age reduction at age 67 with 10 or more years of service. Retirement is open from age 62 with 10 years, reduced 0.5% for each month under age 67. Ten years of service is the minimum vesting for a monthly benefit.
Tier II
“This guide has been prepared for Tier II members. You are a Tier II member if you first became a participant on or after January 1, 2011.” “At age 67 with 10 or more years of service, no age reduction.” SURS says to contact it if you took a refund or belonged to another Illinois retirement system before 2011, because prior participation can affect your tier. The early option: “At age 62 with 10 or more years of service, with a 0.5% reduction for each month that you are under age 67 at the time of retirement.”
Vesting
“The Traditional and Portable Pension Plans require 10 years of service to meet minimum vesting for a monthly retirement benefit.”
What the pension is based on
“The formula is: years of service x 2.2% x your final average earnings, less an age reduction, if applicable. Subject to a maximum of 80% of your final average earnings.”
Tier I in brief
The Tier I guide lists these options. “At age 62 with 5 or more years of service.” “At age 55 with 8 or more years of service, with a 0.5% reduction for each month that you are under age 60 at the time of retirement.” “At any age with 30 or more years of service.”
A worked example with invented numbers
Take an invented Tier II member with 25 years of service who retires at 67. That is 25 years at 2.2%, or 55% (computed) of a final average salary of $70,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $38,500 a year (computed).
Now take an invented Tier II member with 20 years of service who retires at 62, 60 months before 67. That is 20 years at 2.2%, or 44% (computed) of a final average salary of $70,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $30,800 a year (computed). The reduction is 60 months under age 67 at 0.5% each, which is 30% (computed). The pension after the reduction is $21,560 a year (computed).
What the documents do not say
No Rule of 85 or other rule of N appears in any SURS source read. The averaging periods for final average earnings appear only in a table on SURS’s web page, so this page states neither. Police and firefighter provisions and the Retirement Savings Plan are not covered. The plan choice guides are undated, and the eligibility web page carries no revision date.
Common mistakes
- Looking for a Rule of 85 in Tier II. No SURS source read prints one.
- Using the Tier I any-age 30-year option for a Tier II member. The Tier II list in the Traditional and Portable plans has no such option.
- Ignoring the cap. The formula is subject to a maximum of 80% of final average earnings.
Related: Illinois SURS retirement decisions, the Illinois SURS COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether Illinois taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- State Universities Retirement System of Illinois, Plan Choice Guide, Tier II: surs.org
- State Universities Retirement System of Illinois, Plan Choice Guide, Tier I: surs.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.