Providing Benefits for Life
Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi
A New Member's Guide
Welcome Aboard
Congratulations on your new job! Among
the benefits offered in your employer's
human resources package is membership
in the Public Employees’ Retirement
System of Mississippi (PERS).
Your Membership
PERS covers employees of state
agencies, public schools, community
colleges, universities, and participating
political subdivisions like cities and
counties, and participation is mandatory,
which means you are required to contribute
a set percentage of your salary toward
your retirement while you are employed in
PERS-covered service. Additionally, your
employer pays contributions to the plan
so that, once you retire, you will receive
monthly benefits for life. Furthermore, the
money you contribute is tax-deferred until
you begin receiving retirement benefits or
unless you refund, which you may only
do if you terminate employment from all
PERS-covered employers. You cannot
receive loans, partial refunds, or hardship
withdrawals of your contributions.
As a new member, your first step toward
retirement is to become vested, which
happens when you have worked the
required number of years of service as
a contributing member. Being vested
entitles you and your beneficiaries
to certain benefits when you reach a
specified age or years of service. If you
became a member of PERS on or after
July 1, 2011, you are in PERS Retirement
Tier 4 and must work eight years to vest.
You remain a member of PERS as long
as you leave your funds in your member
account. Your membership can only be
terminated by refunding or upon your
death.
Never Too Early to Plan
Contributing toward your retirement may
not be your top priority right now, or even
something you want to do. But making the
sacrifice now could mean greater peace
of mind and stability later.
One of the best starting points for
planning for your future is to understand
the benefits offered to you and your loved
ones by PERS. This guide can provide
you with a general overview about your
retirement plan; however, we encourage
you to read through the PERS Member
Handbook (found online) or contact us
any time you have a question.
Welcome to PERS
Your Benefits with PERS
Protecting Your Loved Ones
PERS provides disability and survivor
coverage to help give you peace of mind
about the well-being of you and your loved
ones should you become permanently
disabled or die before retirement. Details
on each of these benefit plans and eligibility
requirements are provided in the PERS
Member Handbook, PERS Disability
Retirement Guide, and PERS Survivor
Retirement Guide (all found online).
Guarding Your Assets
PERS is administered by its 10-member
Board of Trustees, which includes the state
treasurer, one gubernatorial appointee, and
eight trustees elected by members like you.
The Board, in conjunction with its consulting
actuary, monitors System funding to ensure
the plan remains financially sound.
Keeping You Informed
Along with providing a statement about
your account status every fall, PERS
provides newsletters, annual reports,
educational opportunities, and a team of
dedicated and trained staff to answer your
questions or provide you with information
should you need to contact PERS. You may
also request that PERS come to your area
to present an Early Career/New Employee
seminar. To request this seminar, simply
e-mail [email protected].
Two Types of Pensions
There are basically two types of
pensions: defined benefit plans and
defined contribution plans.
Defined Benefit Plans
PERS is a defined benefit plan, which
is a plan designed based on strength in
numbers, automatic participation, and
pooled risk so that members may receive
a benefit for life at retirement.
While you and your employer contribute
to PERS on your behalf, your benefit is
not based on these contributions. Instead,
your benefit is based upon a formula
that factors your years of service credit
and your average compensation.* The
contributions plus investment earnings
on those contributions constitute the
trust from which benefits are paid. These
investments are handled by professional
investment managers hired by the PERS
Board of Trustees.
Defined Contribution Plans
Under a defined contribution plan—
like 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans—
retirement benefits are based on the
investment earnings on contributions. You
control how your money is invested, and
you can take your account balance with
you when you leave employment.
* Average compensation is defined as a member’s
average salary for the four highest paid years of
employment.
2 - PERS New Member Guide www.pers.ms.gov
Retirement Stability
The best time to begin saving for the
future is now, using the three-legged-stool
approach to retirement planning.
Your defined benefit with PERS will
provide one important leg of retirement
security. In addition, a strong retirement
strategy includes Social Security and
personal savings.
This three-legged-stool approach
provides a strong and stable foundation
for a more secure retirement.
Saving for Even More Peace of Mind
Even Small Investments
Can Make a Difference
Regardless of whether you are a couple
of decades or just a few years from
retirement, you should consider enrolling
in Mississippi Deferred Compensation
Plan & Trust (MDC) because small
investments now could result in large
rewards later.
MDC is a voluntary supplemental tax-
deferred retirement savings plan offered
through PERS to all state employees,
elected officials, employees of participating
political subdivisions, and independent
contractors of the state or participating
political subdivisions. It is a convenient and
valuable way to supplement retirement
income regardless of your age and salary
and no matter how investment-savvy you
may be. Plus, plan participation offers two
tax advantages:
• Your current income taxes are
reduced immediately because you
defer part of your compensation.
• Any interest and/or earnings also
accumulate on a tax-deferred basis
until paid.
If you enroll in MDC, the actual amount
you will have at retirement will be
determined by (1) how much you invest,
(2) when you begin investing, and (3)
the performance of your investments.
For example, a biweekly contribution of
$25 ($650 a year) that earns an annual
compounded return of 7 percent, will
produce the following:
• After five years: $3,872
• After 10 years: $9,304
• After 20 years: $27,605
• After 30 years: $63,607
For more information, visit MDC online at
www.mdcplan.com.
www.pers.ms.gov PERS New Member Guide - 3
Disclaimer
This guide is published for members of the Public Employees’ Retirement
System of Mississippi (PERS) to provide general information regarding PERS
laws, policies, and regulations and is subject to periodic revision as laws,
policies, and regulations change. See all current PERS Board of Trustees
Regulations at www.pers.ms.gov/Content/Pages/Board-Regulations.aspx.
PERS administers the benefits described in this guide on behalf of
participating employers. This guide is meant to serve as a general reference
to our members and should not be used as a legal reference or a complete
statement of the laws or administrative rules related to retirement. If any
conflict exists between the information in this guide and the applicable laws or
administrative rules, the laws and administrative rules shall prevail.
Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi
429 Mississippi Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39201-1005
800.444.7377 or 601.359.3589
www.pers.ms.gov
This guide was revised July 1, 2016.
Other Resources
The following resources can be found on the
PERS website.
• PERS Member Handbook
• PERS Disability Retirement Guide
• PERS Survivor Retirement Guide
• PERS Board Regulation 36, Eligibility
for Membership in the Public
Employees’ Retirement System of
Mississippi (PERS)
• PERS Board Regulation 60,
Contribution Rates
