Your pension benefit is based on your length of pensionable service, the average of your highest five consecutive years of pensionable salary and a benefit rate of 2%.
How Your Pension Is Calculated
Example
A member has a highest average salary of $126,000 and has 20 years of pensionable service.
The final amount of your pension is also based on when you retire, the pension option you choose at retirement, and whether you choose to coordinate your pension.
If you have Combined Pensionable Service, this may also affect your pension benefit.
As situations, salary and service amounts are unique to every Plan member, the simplest way to run calculations or estimate pension benefits is by using either of the following tools:
- The Pension Estimator allows you to compare different scenarios by inputting your own estimated values for average salary, pensionable service and retirement age.
- The Pension Projection Calculator allows you to project the amount of your MEPP pension based on the actual information we have on file for you. This option is only available to members who have registered for Your Pension Profile, the secure, online portal that is part of this website.
Highest Average Salary Calculation
(using the five consecutive years where your salary was the highest)
Example:
Breaking Down The Pension Formula
Salary
The salary factor used in the formula to calculate your pension is called the highest average salary. This determines the average from five consecutive years where your salary was the highest. Often, but not always, those are the last five years of a MEPP member's career.
Some considerations may apply.
Service
Another important component of the pension benefit calculation is pensionable service. This is the total amount of time you were employed by a MEPP employer (or one that shares a transfer agreement with MEPP, and from which you have opted to transfer your eligible service to MEPP), and actively contributing to the Plan.
Maximum Amount of Service
The Plan's maximum pensionable service is 35 years, or 35 years between MEPP and the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) if you have Combined Pensionable Service (CPS). Service you purchase through a buyback or transfer into MEPP also counts towards your pensionable service.
Note: While you can no longer make pension contributions to MEPP once you reach 35 years of service, you can continue to work. Any changes to your salary after this time will still be considered in your pension calculation, even though you have stopped making contributions. This means that, if your salary goes up, your pension payments might also increase.