What do you need to do to become eligible for your state employee defined benefit pension? How old do you need to be? How much service credit do you need to accumulate? These questions will be answered in the tutorial Qualifying for Your Pension.

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After viewing the tutorial take a moment to complete the Test Your Knowledge quiz.

The Estimating Your Straight Life Pension tutorial discusses the pension formula for a regular defined benefit pension, how service credit affects your pension amount, and how your Final Average Compensation (FAC) is calculated.

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The Estimating Your Supplemental Pension tutorial discusses the supplemental pension formula for covered employees who work directly with prisoners, how service credit affects your pension amount, and how your Final Average Compensation (FAC) is calculated.

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The Estimating Your Conservation Officer Pension tutorial discusses the pension formula for conservation officers, how service credit affects your pension amount, and how your Final Average Compensation (FAC) is calculated.

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After viewing the tutorial take a moment to complete the Test Your Knowledge quiz.

Public Act 264 of 2011 changed the way Final Average Compensation (FAC) will be calculated for people who have overtime and whose FAC period is any time after January 1, 2012. Learn if this change affects you, and the impact it has on the pension calculation.

Download this handout to use as an example to help with understanding the explanations in the tutorial.

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The Pension Payment Options tutorial discusses what payment options are available, how survivor options work, and what happens to your pension if you die.

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What are your insurance coverage options after you retire? How do you become eligible for the insurance? How do I determine how much the insurance will cost? This tutorial covers insurance after retirement.

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This tutorial walks you through the steps of registering in miAccount, and explains what to do if you have trouble logging in.

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Should I Attend?

If you are a Defined Benefit plan participant within four years of retirement, you should plan on attending this webinar. This is the same Defined Benefit presentation that is delivered during the Preretirement Orientations (PRO). This is a great way to review Defined Benefit information if you've already attended a PRO. You may attend this presentation even if you've not attended a PRO. (The Defined Benefit plan is the old pension plan for those people hired before March 31, 1997.)

What Will I Learn?

1. How you become eligible for your pension.
2. How your pension is calculated.
3. Which pension payment option is best for you?
4. Why is service credit important?
5. How to pay off service credit purchases before you retire.
6. Is the Equated Plan is a wise or an unwise choice?
7. What are the eligibility requirements for insurance, both for yourself and your dependents?
8. How the insurance subsidy and premium structure works.
9. Where you can get answers about insurance coverage related questions.
10. When and how to file your application and what to expect AFTER you file your application.
11. Why you should feel more confident about making retirement decisions.

What Do I Need To Participate?

1. You will need to register for this meeting in advance.
2. You will need a computer with a high speed internet connection to access the visual portions of the presentation.
3. You will need a sound card, speakers or headphones to hear the audio presentation.
4. You will need to set aside about ninety minutes on the day of the meeting at the scheduled time.

How Do I Register?

Please visit our registration page to see a schedule and to register for an upcoming session.

The presentation is scheduled to last approximately ninety minutes.

Should I Attend?

If you are retiring within four years, you may want to attend this full-day seminar. The seminar will feature presentations from your Deferred Compensation/Defined Contribution Plan Administrator ING, the Social Security Administration, and the Office of Retirement Services. This combination of presentations will provide a full-spectrum approach to retirement planning

What Will I Learn?

Preretirement Orientation Seminars (PROs) offered by Michigan's Civil Service Commission cover topics including retirement pension options, deferred compensation, insurances, Social Security and Medicare. Each session includes a question and answer period.

What Do I Need To Participate?

You will need a full day to attend the sessions. All seminars run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with an hour break for lunch on your own.

You will need to register for this meeting in advance.

How Do I Register?

You must register through your department's training or human resources office. You are welcome to bring your spouse or a guest. If either you or your guest requires mobility, visual, hearing or other special needs assistance for effective participation, please indicate such needs when registering.

Click here to visit the Civil Service intranet site for more information on meeting dates and locations, and registration. Click on Pre-Retirement Orientation Seminar under the Retirement / Investing heading.

Please note: You may access this information only when logged into the state of Michigan's intranet.

If you have any questions about the seminars, please contact Civil Service at (517) 335-0310 or send an email to mcsc-training@michigan.gov.