CalSTRS vs CalPERS: Key Differences for California Public Employees

Who Belongs Where

CalSTRS covers certificated educators — classroom teachers, community college instructors, librarians, counselors, and certificated administrators in California's public K-12 districts, county offices of education, and community college districts. CalPERS covers classified school employees (custodians, bus drivers, office staff) along with state workers, local government employees, and some charter school staff.

If you hold a teaching credential and work in a covered position, you're almost certainly CalSTRS. If you moved between a classified staff role and a certificated role during your career, you may have service credit in both systems.

The Formulas Side by Side

Both systems use a similar structure — service credit times an age factor times final compensation — but the numbers inside that formula differ.

CalPERS members in safety classifications (law enforcement, firefighters) have a separate, more generous formula — typically 3% at 50 for classic members.

Age Factors Work Differently

CalSTRS age factors increase monthly from age 55 (or 50 with 30 years) through a 2.4% cap at age 63 for classic members. CalPERS classic miscellaneous members hit 2.0% at 55, 2.418% at 63, and their cap of 2.5% at age 67.

The practical difference: a CalSTRS classic member retiring at 60 gets a 2.0% factor per year of service. In the CalSTRS 2% at 62 tier, the factor at age 60 is 1.8%; use CalPERS's table for the exact factor in that system. CalPERS members who can wait until 67 reach a higher maximum multiplier.

For PEPRA members in both systems (hired January 1, 2013 or later), the formulas shifted. CalSTRS PEPRA members are on the 2% at 62 structure. CalPERS PEPRA miscellaneous members are also on 2% at 62. The biggest PEPRA difference between the systems is the compensation cap and contribution rate structure.

Social Security Is the Biggest Practical Gap

Most CalSTRS members do not pay Social Security tax on their teaching earnings, so they don't earn Social Security credits from that work. CalPERS school employees typically do pay into Social Security alongside their CalPERS contributions.

After the Social Security Fairness Act repealed WEP and GPO in January 2025, CalSTRS members who earned Social Security credits from non-teaching jobs (summer work, a prior career, spousal benefits) can now receive those benefits without the old reductions. But teaching years still don't generate Social Security credits themselves.

CalPERS school employees earn Social Security credits on every covered paycheck and collect both their CalPERS pension and Social Security at retirement.

Reciprocity Between the Systems

If you worked in both CalSTRS and CalPERS positions during your career, the two systems have a reciprocity agreement. The key protections:

• CalSTRS can use your highest salary from either system to calculate your benefit, as long as you retire from both systems on the same date
• Service credit from both systems can combine to meet vesting thresholds
• You must retire concurrently — the same effective date — to preserve reciprocal final compensation rights

Miss the concurrent retirement requirement, and each system calculates your benefit using only its own salary history. That can cost thousands per year if your CalPERS salary was higher than your CalSTRS salary.

Which System Comes Out Ahead

There's no universal answer. CalSTRS members with 30+ years of service get the career factor bonus and potentially the one-year final compensation calculation, advantages CalPERS doesn't offer. CalPERS members earn Social Security credits that CalSTRS members don't. CalPERS safety members have the most generous formula of all.

What matters is running the numbers for your specific situation — your actual service credit, your actual age at retirement, and your actual salary history. The CalSTRS Service Retirement Guide covers the CalSTRS side of that calculation in detail, including age factor tables, the career factor rules, and how reciprocity affects your benefit estimate.

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