Estimate your monthly CalSTRS benefit. Supports the 2% at 60 (pre-2013) and 2% at 62 (post-2013 PEPRA-aligned) formulas, with the full age factor table and final compensation math.
CalSTRS — the California State Teachers' Retirement System — covers about 1 million K-12 and community college educators in California. Your monthly benefit follows the same Service × Age Factor × Final Compensation formula CalPERS uses, but with CalSTRS' own age factor table and tier rules.
If you were hired into CalSTRS-covered service before 1/1/2013, you're on the CalSTRS "2% at 60" formula: age factor of 2% at age 60, scaling up to 2.4% at age 63 and beyond, and scaling down to 1.1% at age 50 (with the early-retirement rule). If you were hired on or after 1/1/2013, you're on the "2% at 62" formula, with the age factor scaling reaching 2.4% only at age 65, and a higher minimum retirement age.
This calculator handles both tracks. It also covers the Defined Benefit Supplement (DBS) — your separate cash balance account funded by employer contributions on earnings above one year of service — and the career factor kicker (0.2% added to the age factor at 30+ years of service for pre-2013 members).
The calculator is built for California teachers specifically. If you've worked under another system too (CalPERS reciprocity, UCRP, out-of-state teaching), the broader pension comparison tool can model both side-by-side.
Step 1 — Find your tier. If your first CalSTRS-covered job started before 1/1/2013, you're 2% at 60. After that, you're 2% at 62. Reciprocity rules can keep you in the 2% at 60 tier even if your CalSTRS job started later, if you came directly from another California public pension system without a break.
Step 2 — Look up your age factor. 2% at 60 members: age factor is 2.0% at age 60, plus 0.033% per month thereafter, capping at 2.4% at age 63 and beyond. Career members (30+ years) get a 0.2% career factor added on top, capped at 2.4%. 2% at 62 members: 2.0% at age 62, scaling up at the same rate, capping at 2.4% at age 65.
Step 3 — Enter your final compensation. CalSTRS uses your single highest 12 consecutive months of creditable compensation (pre-2013 members) or the highest 36-month average (post-2013 members). Creditable compensation excludes overtime stipends, lump-sum cash-outs at retirement, and certain summer-school differentials.
Enter your years of service, age at retirement, and highest pay — the calculator returns your monthly CalSTRS benefit plus the supplemental Defined Benefit Supplement (DBS) and Cash Balance Benefit if applicable.
Open the calculator →Hired before 1/1/2013 = 2% at 60 (the older, richer formula). Hired on or after 1/1/2013 = 2% at 62. The newer 2% at 62 tier has a higher minimum retirement age (55 instead of 50), uses a 36-month average for final comp instead of the highest 12 months, and the age factor scaling is shifted later by 2 years. Pre-2013 members keep their 2% at 60 formula for life unless they refund their contributions.
Most CalSTRS members do NOT pay into Social Security on their teaching wages — California teachers are in a 'non-covered' employment for SS. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed January 5, 2025, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) for benefits payable January 2024 and later: your own Social Security from other jobs (private sector, summer work, etc.) is no longer reduced, and if your spouse has a Social Security record, your Social Security spousal/survivor benefit based on that record is no longer reduced because you receive a CalSTRS pension. CalSTRS-covered teaching wages themselves still do not earn Social Security credits.
DBS is your separate cash-balance account inside CalSTRS, funded by employer contributions on earnings above 1.0 years of service in a single year (typically summer school, extra-duty pay, coaching stipends). DBS pays a guaranteed minimum interest rate, plus an additional declared rate when the fund overperforms. At retirement you can take DBS as a lump sum, monthly annuity, or roll it to an IRA. It's separate from your main monthly pension.
2% at 60 members can retire as early as age 50 with at least 30 years of service. Below 30 years, the minimum is age 55. 2% at 62 members must wait until age 55 (no exception). Early retirement applies a steep age-factor reduction — the calculator shows the difference in monthly dollars between, say, retiring at 55 vs. 60.
Yes — CalSTRS pays a 2% simple (non-compounding) COLA based on the year of retirement. There's also a Supplemental Benefit Maintenance Account (SBMA) that pays an additional amount to maintain at least 85% of original purchasing power. SBMA isn't guaranteed and depends on fund performance.
