Estimate your monthly CalPERS retirement benefit in under a minute. Supports Classic and PEPRA formulas, all benefit factors (2% at 55, 60, 62), and Final Compensation math for state, school, and local public agency members.
If you're a CalPERS member — state worker, K-14 schools, CSU staff, or local public agency employee — your retirement benefit is a defined formula: Service Credit × Benefit Factor × Final Compensation. Each variable comes from a different place: your service credit comes from your annual statement, your benefit factor comes from your formula chart (2% at 55, 2% at 60, 2% at 62, 3% at 50, etc.), and your final compensation is either your single highest year or a three-year average depending on whether you're Classic or PEPRA.
The math is straightforward once you know the inputs. The problem is finding all three in one place. CalPERS' own calculator on myCalPERS works but assumes you already know your formula and your tier. This calculator walks you through it.
This tool covers both Classic and PEPRA members, the full range of benefit factors (1.092%–3% per year of service), and includes the unmodified vs. option-2W/3W/4 survivor decision that you'll face at retirement. It also flags the $129,500 PEPRA compensation cap (2026) and the air-time purchase limitations that apply post-PEPRA.
The calculator is part of the broader Learn Your Money pension toolkit, which also covers UCRP, CalSTRS, FERS, military, and 25+ other public pensions. You can compare formulas side-by-side if you've worked under more than one system, or if you're deciding whether to reciprocate.
Step 1 — Pick your formula. Most state and school CalPERS members hired after 1/1/2013 are PEPRA (2% at 62 is the most common). Most pre-2013 hires are Classic and on one of the 2% at 55 / 2% at 60 / 2.5% at 55 / 2.7% at 55 / 3% at 50 / 3% at 55 / 3% at 60 tracks. If you don't know your tier, log into myCalPERS and check your Annual Member Statement.
Step 2 — Enter your service credit. This is your earned years of CalPERS-covered service, including any purchased service (military buyback, ARP, etc.). Decimal years are fine — the calculator handles 22.4 years exactly.
Step 3 — Set your retirement age. The benefit factor table in your formula changes by age. Retiring at 62 instead of 55 can mean a 25–40% bigger monthly check. The calculator shows the trade-off in real dollars so you can decide whether one more year is worth waiting for.
Step 4 — Enter your Final Compensation. Classic members: your single highest 12-month period of pensionable pay. PEPRA members: your highest 36-month average. Pensionable pay excludes overtime and lump-sum unused leave payouts.
Enter your years of service, age at retirement, and highest pay — the calculator returns your monthly benefit plus an unmodified vs. survivor-option comparison.
Open the calculator →PEPRA (Public Employees' Pension Reform Act) took effect 1/1/2013. New hires after that date are usually PEPRA: 2% at 62 benefit factor, 3-year final compensation average, and a $129,500 pensionable pay cap (2026). Classic members hired before 2013 keep their original formula (often 2% at 55 or richer), use 1-year highest pay, and have no pensionable pay cap. There are exceptions for members who reciprocated from another CalPERS-covered system without a break in service.
Classic members: your single highest 12 consecutive months of pensionable pay. PEPRA members: your highest 36 consecutive months averaged. Pensionable pay = base pay plus certain pay items (some special compensation), and explicitly EXCLUDES overtime, on-call, lump-sum unused leave cash-outs at retirement, and one-time bonuses. The CalPERS Special Compensation list is the authoritative source of what counts.
Yes, but with restrictions. CalPERS retirees are limited to 960 hours per fiscal year of post-retirement employment with any CalPERS-covered employer. Exceed 960 hours and you may have to reinstate your active membership and stop your pension. Private-sector work has no such limit.
Yes — most CalPERS plans pay a 2% annual COLA based on CPI, compounded. Some employer contracts allow up to 3% or 5% COLAs. The COLA starts in the second year after retirement (the first full year you're retired). PEPRA does not change the COLA rate, only the benefit factor and pensionable pay rules.
Unmodified pays the highest monthly amount but stops entirely when you die. Option 2 / 2W pays a reduced monthly amount and continues 100% to your survivor for life. Option 3 / 3W pays a reduced amount and continues 50% to your survivor. Option 4 lets you customize the survivor percentage or cap. The cost of survivor protection is the monthly reduction, and the size of that reduction depends on your age difference and the option chosen.