The Correctional Employees Retirement Plan (Correctional Plan) covers certain correctional officers and other specified Department of Corrections and Human Services employees who spend at least 75% of their time directly responsible for inmate or patient care. For a list of positions covered by the Correctional Plan, see Minnesota Statutes 352.91.
The Correctional Plan provides retirement, survivor, and disability coverage for eligible state employees.
Once you retire, you receive a monthly retirement benefit for life with potential post-retirement increases. Depending on the option you select at retirement, your survivor(s) may be eligible to receive a lifetime survivor benefit upon your death.
To learn more, see the Correctional Retirement Plan Handbook (pdf).
Employee and employer contribution rates are established by Minnesota law. Contributions are a percentage of pay.
| Employee Contribution | Employer Contribution | Employer Supplemental Increase* |
|---|---|---|
| 9.6% | 14.4% (plus supplemental increase) | 4.45% starting July 1, 2021 |
Eligibility to collect a monthly retirement benefit (or what we call vesting) is based on years of service. You can start collecting full retirement benefits at age 55. Most employees can begin collecting a reduced monthly benefit at age 50 or later.
If first hired before July 1, 2010
You are eligible for monthly benefits after three years of service.
If first hired after June 30, 2010
You are eligible for a benefit after five years of service. Your percentage of vesting increases each year of employment. Once you reach 10 years you are fully vested. This is known as a graded vesting schedule.
| Years of Service | Vested |
|---|---|
| 10 | 100% |
| 9 | 90% |
| 8 | 80% |
| 7 | 70% |
| 6 | 60% |
| 5 | 50% |
Calculating your retirement benefit is a simple formula defined in Minnesota law. The first piece we consider is the length of service. Then we calculate the high-five average salary. We take these two pieces and apply it to a benefit multiplier to determine the retirement benefit.
Other factors that determine the monthly benefit are the retirement age and the survivor benefit option selected at retirement.
To learn more about how the retirement benefit is calculated, see:
Service credit -- or allowable service -- is the credit you earn each month retirement deductions are withheld from your salary. Service credit is important because it is used in a formula to determine your monthly retirement benefit. The more service you have and the higher your salary, the higher your monthly retirement benefit will be.
A number of factors may impact your service credit including:
Your status at the time of death (before or after you are collecting a monthly retirement/disability benefit), determines how your assets will be paid and to whom (a beneficiary or survivor).
It is important that you understand the difference between a beneficiary and survivor and the benefits they are eligible for upon your death. To learn more, see Beneficiary & Survivor Benefit.
As a member of the Correctional Plan, you have disability protection. This is an important benefit since it will pay you disability benefits for your lifetime, or until you are no longer disabled. The Correctional Plan offers two types of disability: Duty disability and regular disability.
To learn more, see Disability Benefit.