VRS Retirement Plan 1

Member Contributions

If you are a state employee other than an elected official, judge or participant in an optional retirement plan, you contribute 5 percent of your compensation each month to your member contribution account. If you are an employee of a school division or a political subdivision, your employer may make the 5 percent member contribution on your behalf. Contributions you make are on a pre-tax salary reduction basis. Your account accrues 4 percent interest, which is compounded annually on the balance as of the previous June 30. If you leave your position before you are eligible to retire, you can take a refund of your member contributions and interest or leave your funds with VRS and become a deferred member.

If You Take a Refund

• Taking a refund cancels your membership and eligibility for any future VRS benefits. If you later return to covered employment, you will be rehired under the VRS Plan 2.
• If you request a refund and are vested, you will be eligible for a full refund of your member contribution account balance. If you are not vested, you will be eligible for any contributions you have made to your member contribution account, plus accrued interest. You also will be eligible for any contributions made by your employer before July 1, 2010 and the interest on these contributions. You will not be eligible for a refund of contributions made by your employer after July 1, 2010 or the interest on these contributions.
• Refunds of pre-tax contributions paid directly to you are subject to federal and state income taxes. Before requesting a refund, read about refunds and rollovers in the IRS 402(f) Special Tax Notice 28.5kb

Employer Contribution

Your employer makes a separate contribution to VRS based on the payroll of all employees it covers under VRS. Members are not eligible for a refund of this employer contribution.

How Your Benefit is Paid

When you retire, you elect how you want to receive your benefit. The payout options are the Basic Benefit, Survivor Option, Partial Lump-Sum Option Payment (PLOP) and Advance Pension Option. Your retirement benefit is paid first from your member contribution account. If you elect a PLOP, the lump sum also is paid from your member contribution account. Once these funds are paid out, your benefit is paid from employer contributions and investment earnings. For more information, see Benefit Payout Options – Plan 1.

Eligible Employees

You are in the VRS Plan 1 if you were hired before July 1, 2010 as a:

• Full-time permanent, salaried employee of a state agency or faculty member of a public college or university who elected VRS (some part-time permanent, salaried state employees also are covered under VRS)
• Full-time permanent, salaried instructional and management employees (teachers, school administrators, school managers and clerical staff)
• Full-time permanent, salaried employee of a city, county, town or other political subdivision that participates in VRS

You may be an active member or deferred member.

Normal Retirement Age: 65

Unreduced Retirement

You become eligible for an unreduced retirement benefit at age 65 with at least five years of service credit or age 50 with at least 30 years of service credit.

Reduced Retirement

You become eligible for a reduced retirement benefit at age 55 with at least five years of service credit or age 50 with at least 10 years of service credit.

Benefit Calculation

The amount of the unreduced retirement benefit is 1.7 percent of your average final compensation multiplied by your total years of service credit. An early retirement reduction factor is applied to this amount if you retire with a reduced retirement benefit.

Eligible Employees

You are in the SPORS Plan 1 if you were hired as a state police officer before July 1, 2010. You may be an active member or deferred member.

Normal Retirement Age: 60

Mandatory Retirement Age: 70

Unreduced Retirement

You become eligible for an unreduced retirement benefit at age 60 with at least five years of service credit or age 50 with at least 25 years of service credit.

Reduced Retirement

You become eligible for a reduced retirement benefit at age 50 with at least five years of service credit.

Benefit Calculation

The amount of the unreduced retirement benefit is 1.85 percent of your average final compensation multiplied by your total years of service credit. An early retirement reduction factor is applied to this amount if you retire with a reduced retirement benefit. If you retire on disability, your retirement multiplier will be 1.7 percent.

Hazardous Duty Supplement ($12,456 per year or $1,038 per month through June 30, 2013)

If you have at least 20 years of hazardous duty service credit at retirement, you may qualify for a hazardous duty supplement. The supplement is added to the monthly benefit and continues until your normal Social Security retirement age. Service eligible for the hazardous duty supplement includes:

• Service in a VRS-covered position eligible for the hazardous duty supplement
• Prior service credit for refunded VRS hazardous duty service or for an eligible period of leave while covered under VRS in a hazardous duty position, provided you purchase or are granted this service
• Hazardous duty service with a VRS-participating political subdivision that does not provide enhanced coverage or in a position under the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System (VaLORS) with the 2.0 percent multiplier, provided you retire under SPORS, under VaLORS with the 1.7 percent multiplier or from a political subdivision employer that has elected enhanced coverage

Other types of prior service you may be eligible to purchase, such as active duty military service or hazardous duty service with a non-VRS participating employer, do not count toward the supplement. For more information, see Purchase of Prior Service – Plan 1.

Eligible Employees

You are in the VaLORS Plan 1 if you were hired before July 1, 2010 as a:

• Capitol police officer
• Campus police officer
• Conservation police officer
• ABC special agent
• Marine resources officer
• State correctional officer
• State juvenile correctional officer
• State parole officer
• Commercial vehicle enforcement officer employed by the Virginia Department of State Police

You may be an active member or deferred member.

Normal Retirement Age: 60

Unreduced Retirement

You become eligible for an unreduced retirement benefit at age 60 with at least five years of service credit or age 50 with at least 25 years of service credit.

Reduced Retirement

You become eligible for a reduced retirement benefit at age 50 with at least five years of service credit.

Benefit Calculation

• If you were hired before July 1, 2001, you had the option to elect the 1.7 percent retirement multiplier with eligibility for the hazardous duty supplement or a 2.0 percent multiplier with no eligibility for the supplement. The amount of the unreduced retirement benefit is either 1.7 percent or 2.0 percent of your average final compensation, depending on your election, multiplied by your total years of service credit.
• If you were hired or rehired on or after July 1, 2001, your retirement multiplier is 2.0 percent. The amount of the unreduced retirement benefit is 2.0 percent of your average final compensation multiplied by your total years of service credit.

An early retirement reduction factor is applied to this amount if you retire with a reduced retirement benefit. If you retire on disability, your retirement multiplier will be 1.7 percent.

Hazardous Duty Supplement ($12,456 per year or $1,038 per month through June 30, 2013)

If you were hired before July 1, 2001 and elected the 1.7 percent multiplier, you may qualify for a hazardous duty supplement if you have at least 20 years of hazardous duty service credit at retirement. The supplement is added to the monthly benefit and continues until you reach age 65. If your retirement multiplier is 2.0 percent, you are not eligible for the supplement.

Service eligible for the hazardous duty supplement includes:

• Service in a VRS-covered position eligible for the hazardous duty supplement
• Prior service credit for refunded VRS hazardous duty service or for an eligible period of leave while covered under VRS in a hazardous duty position, provided you purchase or are granted this service
• Hazardous duty service in a position under VaLORS with the 2.0 percent multiplier or with a VRS-participating political subdivision that does not provide enhanced coverage, provided you retire under SPORS, under VaLORS with the 1.7 percent multiplier or from a political subdivision employer that has elected enhanced coverage

Other types of prior service you may be eligible to purchase, such as active duty military service or hazardous duty service with a non-VRS participating employer, do not count toward the supplement. For more information, see Purchase of Prior Service – Plan 1.

Eligible Employees

You are in the VRS Plan 1 with enhanced benefits for hazardous duty service if you were hired before July 1, 2010 as a:

• Full-time salaried, sworn sheriff
• Full-time salaried, sworn deputy sheriff
• Jail superintendent or sworn officer of a regional jail
• Full-time salaried, sworn local law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical technician whose employer has elected enhanced hazardous duty coverage

You may be an active member or deferred member.

Normal Retirement Age: 60

Mandatory Retirement Age: 70. There is no mandatory retirement age for sheriffs.

Unreduced Retirement

You become eligible for an unreduced retirement benefit at age 60 with at least five years of service credit or age 50 with at least 25 years of service credit.

Reduced Retirement

You become eligible for a reduced retirement benefit at age 50 with at least five years of service credit.

Benefit Calculation

• If you are a sheriff or a regional jail superintendent, the amount of the unreduced retirement benefit is 1.85 percent of your average final compensation multiplied by your total years of service credit.
• For all other hazardous duty employees, the amount of the unreduced retirement benefit is 1.7 percent of average final compensation multiplied by total years of service credit. Your political subdivision may elect the 1.85 percent retirement multiplier for these employees. Check with your human resource office for more information.

An early retirement reduction factor is applied to the unreduced benefit amount if you retire with a reduced retirement benefit. If you retire on disability, your retirement multiplier is 1.7 percent.

Hazardous Duty Supplement ($12,456 per year or $1,038 per month through June 30, 2013)

If you have at least 20 years of hazardous duty service credit at retirement, you may qualify for a hazardous duty supplement. The supplement is added to the monthly benefit and continues until your normal Social Security retirement age. Service eligible for the hazardous duty supplement includes:

• Service in a VRS-covered position eligible for the hazardous duty supplement
• Prior service credit for refunded VRS hazardous duty service or for an eligible period of leave while covered under VRS in a hazardous duty position, provided you purchase or are granted this service
• Hazardous duty service with a VRS-participating political subdivision that does not provide enhanced coverage or in a position under the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System (VaLORS) with the 2.0 percent multiplier, provided you retire from a political subdivision employer that has elected enhanced coverage, under the State Police Officers’ Retirement System (SPORS) or under VaLORS with the 1.7 percent multiplier

Other types of prior service you may be eligible to purchase, such as active duty military service or hazardous duty service with a non-VRS participating employer, do not count toward the supplement. For more information, see Purchase of Prior Service – Plan 1.

Eligible Employees

You are in the JRS Plan 1 if you were appointed before July 1, 2010 as a state judge. You may be an active member or deferred member.

Normal Retirement Age: 65

Mandatory Retirement Age: 70

Weighted Service Credit

• If you were elected or appointed to an original or subsequent term on or after January 1, 1995, you earn two and one-half years of service credit for each year of full-time service as a judge (2.5 x each year of full-time judicial service).
• If you were elected or appointed to an original or subsequent term before January 1, 1995, the amount is three and one-half years (3.5 x each year of full-time judicial service).

Any non-judicial service credit in your VRS record is not weighted.

Unreduced Retirement

You become eligible for an unreduced retirement benefit at age 65 with at least five years of service credit or age 60 with at least 30 years of service credit.

Reduced Retirement

You become eligible for a reduced retirement benefit at age 55 with at least five years of service credit.

Benefit Calculation

The amount of the unreduced retirement benefit is 1.7 percent of your average final compensation multiplied by your total years of service credit. An early retirement reduction factor is applied to this amount if you retire with a reduced retirement benefit.