Membership is required for all state employees who work more than twenty (20) hours per week or are employed more than eighty (80) hours a month. The State of Mississippi mandates participation in the retirement system as a condition of employment. The employee contributes 7.25 percent and the employer contributes 12.0 percent of the employee’s salary up to $230,000.
Members who joined the Retirement System before July 1, 2007, are vested with four years of membership service and can retire at age 60 with 25 years of creditable service. New members who join on or after July 1, 2007, are vested with eight years of membership service and can retire at age 60 or any age with 25 years of creditable service. Members who join on or after July 1, 2011 are vested with 8 years of membership and can retire at age 60 or at any age with 30 years of creditable service.
Retirement Credit
Upon termination or retirement, an employee will be given retirement service credit for unused personal and major medical leave based on the following schedule:
|
State Retirement Credits |
|
|
Days of Accrued Leave |
Retirement Credit |
|
15 – 77 days |
1 quarter |
|
78 – 140 days |
½ year |
|
141 – 203 days |
¾ year |
|
204 – 266 days |
1 year |
|
267 – 329 days |
1 ¼ year |
|
330 – 392 days |
1 ½ year |
|
393 – 455 days |
1 ¾ year |
|
456 – 518 days |
2 years |
|
519 – 581 days |
2 ¼ years |
|
582 – 644 days |
2 ½ years |
|
645 – 707 days |
2 ¾ years |
|
708 – 770 days |
3 years |
Please contact the Division of Human Resources for additional years to the above conversion table. Employees can retire on disability through the retirement system – if an employee is disabled before age 60 and has four years of service if member was hired prior to July 1, 2007 or eight years of membership service if hired on or after July 1, 2007 or if an employee has a work-related injury, he/she may retire without regard to time on the job.
If an employee terminates before he/she becomes vested with PERS, the employee has three options:
- Withdraw his/her contributions with a 20 percent penalty on early withdrawal
- Transfer the contribution to a qualified retirement account, or
- Leave the contribution with PERS in anticipation of returning to covered employment.
If the employee moves to another state agency, the funds must remain in PERS. Forms for Refund of Accumulated Contributions may be obtained from the Division of Human Resources.
*Percentage contributions are subject to change.