Enter your Final Average Salary (FAS), years of service, and a multiplier to estimate your defined-benefit pension — using the standard formula most US state teacher retirement systems are built on. Educational estimate only; always verify with your own state's official calculator.
Most US public school teacher pensions are defined-benefit plans, meaning your payout is calculated from a formula rather than depending on investment returns in a personal account. The formula used by the large majority of state teacher retirement systems is: Annual pension = Final Average Salary (FAS) × Years of Service × Multiplier.
FAS is the average of your highest-earning years — commonly your final 3 or 5 years of service, though the exact number of years and whether it must be consecutive varies by state. A higher FAS (often achieved by working your highest-paid years right before retirement) directly increases your pension. This calculator simply asks you to enter the number once you know it — check your state plan's rules for exactly how many years count and how they're averaged.
This is your total credited service time in the system — typically full-time years worked, sometimes with partial credit for part-time years, purchased service credit (e.g. military time or time in another state system), or unused sick leave depending on the plan.
The multiplier (sometimes called the "benefit factor" or "accrual rate") is a percentage set by each state's retirement system, often varying by your age at retirement, your hire date (many states have different tiers for teachers hired before/after a certain reform year), and total years of service. It is the single biggest lever in the formula that you don't fully control by working harder — a difference of even 0.2 percentage points compounds across a full career, which is exactly what the sensitivity table below illustrates.
| State system (illustrative) | Approximate multiplier |
|---|---|
| CalSTRS (California) | ~2.0% at age 60 (age-graded 1.1%-2.4% below 60) |
| Texas TRS | ~2.3% |
| Florida FRS | ~1.6% |
| Illinois TRS | ~2.2% |
These figures are illustrative reference points based on commonly published approximations, not guaranteed-current official rates — state legislatures and retirement boards change these over time, and your specific tier, hire date, and retirement age all affect your real multiplier. Confirm your exact rate with your state system directly.
This is an educational estimate, not financial or retirement advice. Official numbers come only from your state's pension system.