Highest Average Salary Tables
As you plan for your retirement in the PERA Defined Benefit Plan, Highest Average Salary (HAS) percentage tables help you answer two important questions:
- When can I retire?
- How much will I receive in retirement?
The HAS tables show you, based on your age and years of service at retirement, what percentage of your salary you’ll receive as your monthly retirement benefit.
How to read an HAS table
When looking at an HAS table, you’ll see years of service on the left and age at retirement across the top. Each box in the table shows the percentage of salary you’ll receive as your monthly benefit for that combination of age and service. For example, if you’re on PERA Table 9 and retire at age 64 with 30 years of service, your benefit will be 75% of your HAS.
White boxes show HAS percentages for full service retirement, while bold shaded boxes show percentages for reduced retirement.
Note: HAS tables only show percentages for a single-life benefit (PERA benefit structure Option 1 or DPS benefit structure Option A). If you plan to elect a benefit option which allows a cobeneficiary to continue your benefit after you die, we’ll reduce your benefit to pay for your cobeneficiary’s continuing benefit.
Which table do I use?
The HAS table that applies to you depends on multiple factors, such as your PERA membership type, when you began working for a PERA employer, and your retirement eligibility.
The easiest way to find your HAS table is to log in to your secure member account. You can also use the tables below, which are separated by benefit structure:
Most PERA members are under the PERA benefit structure, including Denver Public Schools (DPS) employees who were hired after January 1, 2010.
Who qualifies for the DPS benefit structure?
The Denver Public Schools (DPS) benefit structure generally includes members who were working for DPS when the Denver Public Schools Retirement System (DPSRS) merged with PERA on January 1, 2010. If you began working for DPS in 2010 or later, you are in the PERA benefit structure.
Who qualifies as a “Safety Officer”?
For the purposes of PERA benefits, “Safety Officers” include the following employees:
- Peace officers with the Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
- County sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs, noncertified deputy sheriffs, and detention officers in the Local Government Division whose PERA membership began on or after January 1, 2020.
- Corrections officers classified as I through IV in the State Division whose PERA membership began on or after January 1, 2020.
- Firefighters classified as I through VII employed with the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, beginning with service earned on or after July 1, 2020.
- Wildlife officers and parks and recreation officers employed with the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife whose employment in these roles began on or after January 1, 2011, beginning with service earned on or after July 1, 2023.
- County coroners and deputy coroners elected, reelected, or appointed by a local government division employer on or after January 1, 2021, beginning with service earned on or after January 1, 2025.
- Duly sworn employees of the Division of Fire Prevention and Control in the Department of Public Safety whose duties include structural or wildfire management, wildfire response, life-fire training, or wildfire leadership, beginning with service earned on or after July 1, 2025.
Note: In state statute, these professionals are defined as “State Troopers.”
PERA Benefit Structure Members
| Membership Date | 5 Years of Service Credit as of January 1, 2011 | Retirement Eligibility | Table |
|---|---|---|---|
| On or before June 30, 2005 | Yes | Eligible January 1, 2011 | PERA 1 |
| On or before June 30, 2005 | Yes | Not eligible January 1, 2011 | PERA 2 |
| Between July 1, 2005, and December 31, 2006 | Yes | Eligible January 1, 2011 | PERA 3 |
| Between July 1, 2005, and December 31, 2006 | Yes | Not eligible January 1, 2011 | PERA 4 |
| Between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2010 | N/A | Eligible January 1, 2011 | PERA 5 |
| Between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2010 | N/A | Not eligible January 1, 2011 | PERA 6 |
| On or before December 31, 2006 | No | N/A | PERA 6 |
| Between January 1, 2011, and December, 31, 2016 | N/A | N/A | PERA 7 |
| Between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019, and the most recent 10 years of service are in the School or DPS Divisions | N/A | N/A | PERA 7 |
| Between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019 | N/A | N/A | PERA 8 |
| On or after January 1, 2020 | N/A | N/A | PERA 9 |
DPS Benefit Structure Members
| Membership Date | 5 Years of Service Credit as of January 1, 2011 | Retirement Eligibility | Table |
|---|---|---|---|
| On or before June 30, 2005 | Yes | Eligible January 1, 2011 | DPS 1 |
| Between July 1, 2005, and December 31, 2009 | Yes | Eligible January 1, 2011 | DPS 2 |
| On or before December 31, 2009 | Yes | Not eligible January 1, 2011 | DPS 3 |
| On or before December 31, 2009 | No | N/A | DPS 4 |
Safety Officers
| Membership Date | 5 Years of Service Credit as of January, 1, 2011 | Retirement Eligibility | Table |
|---|---|---|---|
| On or before December 31, 2019 | N/A | Eligible January 1, 2011 | Safety Officers 1 |
| On or before December 31, 2019 | N/A | Not eligible January 1, 2011 | Safety Officers 2 |
| On or after January 1, 2020 | N/A | N/A | Safety Officers 3 |
