Eligibility Requirements

You are vested when you have the equivalent of five years service credit. If you have established reciprocity with another qualified retirement system, your reciprocal service credit is included in determining eligibility for vesting and retirement.

Being vested means that you have earned the right to a future retirement benefit, even if you leave your job before you are eligible for a Service Retirement and become a Deferred-Vested member. Being vested also means you are eligible for a Non-Service Connected Disability Retirement.

The eligibility requirements for service (non-disability) retirement are determined by the Plan you are in.

Plan A General Members

• Complete 10 years of service and reach age 50, OR
• Complete 30 years of service regardless of age, OR
• Reach age 70 regardless of the amount of service credit.

Plan A Safety Members

• Complete 10 years of service and reach age 50, OR
• Complete 20 years of service regardless of age, OR
• Reach age 70 regardless of the amount of service credit.

Plan B General Members

• Complete 5 years of service and reach age 52, OR
• Reach age 70 regardless of the amount of service credit.

Plan B Safety Members

• Complete 5 years of service and reach age 50, OR
• Reach age 70 regardless of the amount of service credit.

Members can view their first eligible retirement date, based on the assumption of continued employment in paid status at their current full time equivalent (FTE) by logging into their MySCERA account. 

Part-time Members 

Part-time members may be eligible to retire prior to achieving 10 years of earned service credit.  If you meet the following criteria, please contact SCERA to discuss your retirement options:  

• work less than 80 hours a pay period; and
• are 55 years or old; and
• have 5 or more years of earned service credit; and
• have held a position with a SCERA-covered employer for 10 years.

If you are considering leaving employment before you reach retirement eligibility, please read about Leaving Before Retirement. You may still be eligible for a future benefit.

Retirement Eligibility Information

Click link to download information about retirement eligibility for Plan A members. 

Click link to download information about retirement eligibility for Plan B members.