The Virginia Retirement System covers public school teachers and staff, state employees, and employees of most cities, counties and towns that join it. Members also pay into Social Security, so a VRS pension is built to sit on top of a Social Security check. Which formula you get depends on when you were hired. State police, judges and some public safety jobs have separate rules not covered here.
Which plan you are in
| Plan | Who |
|---|---|
| Plan 1 | Hired before July 1, 2010, and vested (5 years) by January 1, 2013 |
| Plan 2 | Hired from July 1, 2010, through December 31, 2013, or hired earlier but not vested by January 1, 2013 |
| Hybrid | Hired on or after January 1, 2014 (most teachers and state and local employees) |
Plan 1 and Plan 2 members had a one-time chance in 2014 to move to the Hybrid plan. Your VRS online account (myVRS) shows your plan.
The formula
Your yearly pension is multiplier × average final compensation × years of service.
- Plan 1: 1.7%, with average final compensation from your highest 36 consecutive months.
- Plan 2: 1.65% for service from January 1, 2013 (1.7% for earlier service), with a 60-month average.
- Hybrid: 1.0% with a 60-month average, plus a defined contribution account built from your own and your employer’s contributions.
A Plan 2 teacher with 30 years and a $70,000 average gets 49.5% of $70,000, which is $34,650 a year or $2,888 a month. A Hybrid member with the same record gets $21,000 a year from the pension part, and the account balance on top. That account depends on how much goes in. Members pay 1% of pay into it and the employer adds 1%. You can add up to 4% more, and the employer matches part of that, up to 2.5% more.
When you can retire
| Plan | Unreduced | Reduced |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | 65 with 5 years, or 50 with 30 years | 55 with 5 years, or 50 with 10 years |
| Plan 2 | Social Security full retirement age with 5 years, or age + service = 90 | 60 with 5 years |
| Hybrid | Same as Plan 2 | 60 with 5 years |
The Rule of 90 matters most in Plan 2 and Hybrid. A teacher who starts at 25 reaches 90 at age 57.5 with 32.5 years. Without it, the unreduced age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
Retiring at a reduced point cuts the pension for life using VRS’s early-retirement factors, which depend on how far you are from the unreduced point. The cut is smaller for people close to it. Your myVRS benefit estimator shows the exact figure. The pension estimate calculator shows the formula amount and tells you whether you have reached an unreduced point.
COLA
VRS raises benefits each July 1, paid starting with the August payment. The increase follows the Consumer Price Index:
- Plan 1: the first 3% of inflation, plus half of the next 4%, up to 5%.
- Plan 2 and Hybrid: the first 2% of inflation, plus half of the next 2%, up to 3%.
The July 2026 increase was 2.63% for Plan 1 and 2.32% for Plan 2 and Hybrid. You first become eligible on the July 1 after one full calendar year of retirement, with exceptions for some long-service and disability retirements. See the Virginia VRS COLA page for the history and the payment dates for when benefits are deposited.
Social Security
Virginia teachers and public employees pay into Social Security, so most retirees get both checks and neither reduces the other. The pension and Social Security calculator adds them together, and the Social Security benefit calculator estimates your check from your earnings record.
Taxes
Virginia does not tax Social Security. VRS pensions are taxed as income, but residents 65 and older can deduct up to $12,000 a year, reduced at higher incomes. See Virginia retirement taxes, or compare states with the retirement tax calculator.
How well funded is Virginia VRS?
At the end of fiscal 2025, Virginia VRS had assets to cover 85% of the benefits members have earned so far. That is close to the middle of the pack for large state plans. It has risen from 75% in 2016.
In fiscal 2025, employers paid the full contribution the plan's actuaries asked for. A low funded ratio does not cut a pension you have already earned. Public pension benefits are protected by state law, and in many states by the state constitution. What a gap usually changes is the future: higher contributions from workers and employers, and less generous tiers for new hires.