Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: For Tier 2 general members of the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico (first hired on or after July 1, 2013), retirement is open at age 65 with 5 or more years of service credit, or under the Rule of 85 with 5 or more years of service credit. A Tier 2 member is vested after 5 years of service credit.
Are you Tier 2?
“You are a TIER 2 member if you were hired for the first time on or after July 1, 2013; or refunded your employee contributions on or before June 30, 2013, and returned to work for a PERA-affiliated employer on or after July 1, 2013.”
Tier 2 retirement rules
“Age 65 with 5* or more years of service credit.” “Rule of 85 (members must have 5* or more years of service credit and age at time of retirement and years of service credit must equal 85)”.
Vesting
“As a TIER 2 member, you are considered a vested member when you accrue 5 years of service credit.”
Tier 1 in brief
“You are a TIER 1 member if you were hired for the first time on or before June 30, 2013; and had member contributions on account as of June 30, 2013; or were retired as of June 30, 2013.” Its eligibility ladder for the 25-year plans includes “Age 60 or older with 20 or more years of service credit; or Age 61 or older with 17 or more years of service credit; or Age 62 or older with 14 or more years of service credit”. It also lists “Any age with 25 or more years of service credit”.
What the pension is based on
“The base monthly benefit PERA provides is based on a statutorily defined formula, not what you have contributed during your career.” The handbook states the pattern: “Years of Service Credit x Pension Factor(s) x Final Average Salary = Monthly Benefit”. “For TIER 2 members Final Average Salary (FAS) is the average of the highest 60 consecutive months of salary earned during your PERA career.”
What the documents do not say
The pension factors are printed in handbook tables and a worked example, so this page states none and gives no worked example. The Tier 1 ladder continues to ages 63 to 65 on PERA’s page and is not quoted for those rungs. The eligibility pages print an asterisk after the 5 years on the Tier 2 rule without explaining it in the text read here. No early or reduced-age retirement option for Tier 2 general members appears in any PERA source read. Public safety, peace officer, judicial, legislative and volunteer firefighter plans are not covered, and the handbook is the 2022 edition.
Common mistakes
- Using the Tier 1 ladder for a Tier 2 member. Tier 2 starts with a first hire on or after July 1, 2013.
- Treating the Rule of 85 as an age. It adds age and service credit, with at least 5 years of service credit.
- Looking for an early retirement option for Tier 2 general members. No archived PERA source describes one; the earlier routes on the Tier 1 ladder belong to Tier 1.
Related: New Mexico PERA retirement decisions, the New Mexico PERA COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether New Mexico taxes pensions.
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Answer againSources
- Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico, Retirement Eligibility: Tier 2: nmpera.org
- Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico, Retirement Eligibility: Tier 1: nmpera.org
- Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico, 2022 PERA Member Handbook: files.nmpera.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.