Service Credit: Earning and Purchasing

As a member of Michigan's Public School Employees Retirement System, you accumulate service credit when you work for a participating public school. 

Service credit affects your pension eligibility.

Service credit is important, because your pension depends on how many years of service you have. If you're in the Member Investment Plan (MIP), you will qualify for a pension as early as age 46 if you have 30 years of service, or age 60 with 10 years (under certain circumstances, MIP members qualify at age 60 with 5 or more years of service).

Basic Plan members will qualify for a pension at age 55 with 30 years of service or at age 60 with 10 years of service.

Service credit affects your pension amount.

In addition, your pension amount is calculated using your years of service. Whether you are a Basic Plan or MIP participant, your annual pension will be your final average compensation multiplied by 1.5 percent times your years of credited service. 

	SERVICE CREDIT DETERMINES ELIGIBILITY AND AMOUNT Mary Jo is 60 years old. She has worked for a public school for 24 years, earning around $35,000 each year for the last several years.  Mary Jo is eligible for her pension because she meets the age and years of service eligibility requirements.  Mary Jo's yearly pension amount will be $35,000 x 1.5% x her 24 years of service.

Different eligibility rules apply, depending on whether you are a Basic Plan or MIP member. For details, see Qualifying for Your Pension or MIP or Basic .

Explore the service credit section of this website. We explain how you earn service credit while working for a Michigan public school, as well as how you might be able to have other qualifying service count in your public school service credit totals. You will find eligibility and cost information on the different types of service credit you can transfer or purchase. We also include details on how to initiate a purchase, and the different ways you can pay for the service credit.