How to Calculate a Teacher's Pension in Pennsylvania

Teachers in Pennsylvania who put in enough years on the job qualify for a pension once they retire. Pennsylvania teachers who want to calculate their pensions can use the online services offered through the Pennsylvania School Employees’ Retirement System website. For full pension benefits, teachers with at least one year of service can retire at 62. Those with 30 years of service can retire at age 60, and those with 35 years of service can retire at any age. Teachers may take an early retirement but receive a reduced pension amount calculated based on their previous contributions to the pension fund, age of retirement and years of service. The PSERS pays out pension benefits on a monthly basis.

Teachers looking to retire within the next 12 months must fill out and submit a Request for Retirement Estimate through PSERS. The Request for Retirement Estimate is a staff-prepared estimate necessary for a teacher to begin attending exit counseling for retirement. Teachers can receive up to two retirement requests every 12 months. The request form asks for the estimated date of retirement, current year’s salary, Social Security number and basic biographical information such as name, address and date of birth. Once the request is reviewed, a PSERS staff member gives the teacher her estimated pension amounts.

If a teacher is not close to retiring but still wants an estimate of her pension, she can use the PSERS online retirement benefit calculator. Though not required to access the calculator, teachers who use their online PSERS account to access the calculator will have all their information pre-filled for them. Information needed to calculate pension amounts include name, Social Security number, total years of service, date of retirement, retirement type and service class. The system then gives each the teacher an idea of how much she will receive each month in pension payments. By entering in different retirement dates, the teacher can see how long she needs to work before she receives a certain amount in pension money.