12-Month VRS Retirement Checklist: What to Do and When

Months 12 to 6: Audit and Prepare

Confirm your plan tier. Log into myVRS and verify whether you're Plan 1, Plan 2, or Hybrid. The plan determines your formula, eligibility rules, and available payout options.

Audit your service credit. Review every period of employment in your Member Benefit Profile. Check for gaps — transferred employers, leaves of absence, or periods that didn't get reported. If something's missing, contact your employer's HR office to correct the record.

Initiate service credit purchases. If you have eligible prior service — military time, refunded VRS contributions, or qualifying out-of-state public employment — start the purchase process now using Form VRS-26. All purchases must be completed before your retirement effective date. Once you separate from employment, unpurchased service credit is permanently forfeited.

Verify your salary history. Check the compensation figures in myVRS against your pay stubs. Errors in the salary record pull down your Average Final Compensation and reduce your pension permanently. Plan 1 members use the highest 36 consecutive months; Plan 2 and Hybrid use 60 months.

Months 6 to 4: Estimate and Evaluate

Generate benefit estimates. Use the myVRS Benefit Estimator to run estimates at multiple retirement dates and across all payout options: Basic Benefit, Survivor Option (at different percentages), Advance Pension Option, and PLOP (if eligible). Compare the monthly amounts side by side.

Schedule a VRS retirement counseling session. VRS counselors can walk through your benefit estimate, explain forms, and clarify plan-specific rules. Schedule through VRS directly or through your employer's benefits office.

Get a Social Security estimate. If you're considering the Advance Pension Option, you need an official SSA estimate less than 12 months old showing projected benefits at zero future earnings. Obtain it at ssa.gov.

Review health insurance options. State employees should understand the State Retiree Health Benefits Program and the 31-day enrollment window. Political subdivision and school employees should check with local HR about employer-sponsored retiree coverage. Verify your Health Insurance Credit eligibility (15+ years of service required).

Days 120 to 60: File the Application

Submit your retirement application. The filing window opens 120 days before your effective retirement date and closes at 60 days. File online through myVRS or on paper (Form VRS-5) if you have a DRO, hazardous duty service, judicial service, a long-term disability record, or an in-progress service purchase.

Complete the spousal acknowledgment. If you're married and electing anything other than the 100% Survivor Option naming your spouse, your spouse must sign the acknowledgment — notarized for paper applications, digital for myVRS.

Set up tax withholding. Choose your federal and Virginia state withholding elections through myVRS or the paper equivalents.

Submit Form VRS-45 if you need the Health Insurance Credit and your premiums aren't deducted directly by VRS.

Enroll in state retiree health coverage (state employees) using Form A10741 within 31 days of your retirement effective date.

Set up direct deposit through myVRS or Form VRS-57.

Month 0: Separation

Complete the mandatory break in service. After your last day of work, you must remain completely separated from all VRS-participating employers for at least one full calendar month during a period you normally would work. A regular summer break does not count. No part-time work, no contracting, no temporary assignments. Violating this voids the application.

Your employer certifies final earnings to VRS — including final pay, unused leave balances, and the official separation date.

Month +1: First Payment

Your first pension deposit arrives on the first business day of the month after your retirement effective month. Once this payment processes, your payout option election is permanent and irrevocable.

The Virginia VRS Retirement Guide expands each of these steps with the specific forms, deadlines, and decision worksheets you'll need throughout the process.

See more Virginia guides →