Welcome to the Virginia Retirement System (VRS). As a member of VRS, you are eligible to qualify for benefits that are a valuable part of your total compensation package.
The VRS Plan 2 is a defined benefit plan. A defined benefit plan provides a monthly benefit in retirement based on your age, total service credit and average final compensation. Average final compensation is the average of your 60 consecutive months of highest compensation as a covered employee.
Member Contributions
If you are a state employee, you contribute 5 percent of your compensation to your member contribution account each month through a pre-tax salary reduction. If you are a school division or political subdivision employee, your employer may pay some or all of the 5 percent member contribution. Any contributions you make are on a pre-tax salary reduction basis. Check with your human resource office for more information.
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 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 will not be eligible for a refund of contributions made by your employer 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
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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 2.
Eligible Employees
You are in the VRS Plan 2 if you were hired or rehired on or after July 1, 2010 as a:
- Full-time permanent, salaried employee of a state agency or faculty member of a Virginia 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
Normal Retirement Age: Normal Social Security retirement age
Unreduced Retirement
You become eligible for an unreduced retirement benefit when you reach your normal Social Security retirement age and have at least five years of service credit or when your age and service equal 90. An example is age 60 with 30 years of service credit.
Reduced Retirement
You become eligible for a reduced retirement benefit at age 60 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.
For more information, see the Virginia Retirement System Handbook for Members – Plan 2 2202kb
Eligible Employees
You are in the SPORS Plan 2 if you were hired or rehired as a state police officer on or after July 1, 2010.
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.
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 2.
Eligible Employees
You are in the VaLORS Plan 2 if you were hired or rehired on or after 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
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
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.
Eligible Employees
You are in the VRS Plan 2 with enhanced benefits for hazardous duty if you were hired or rehired on or after 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
Normal Retirement Age: 60
Mandatory Retirement Age: 70, excluding sheriffs, regional jail superintendents and jail farm superintendents. There is no mandatory retirement age for these employees.
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.
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 2.
Eligible Employees
You are in the JRS Plan 2 if you were appointed on or after July 1, 2010 as a state judge.
Normal Retirement Age: 65
Mandatory Retirement Age: 70
Weighted Service Credit
- If you were elected or appointed to an original or subsequent term before age 45, you earn one and a half years of service credit for each year of full-time service as a judge (1.5 x each year of full-time judicial service).
- If you were elected or appointed to an original or subsequent term between age 45 and age 54, the amount is two years (2.0 x each year of full-time judicial service).
- If you were elected or appointed to an original or subsequent term at age 55 or older, the amount is two and a half years (2.5 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.
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