How to Read Your MPSERS Pension Estimate in miAccount

Where to Find Your Estimate

Log into miAccount through the State of Michigan MiLogin portal at michigan.gov/orsschools. Under the retirement section, you can run estimates for multiple retirement dates and payout options. Run at least three scenarios: your earliest eligible date, a date one year later, and a date two years later — the FAC difference between them often matters more than you'd guess.

The estimate is not a guarantee of your final pension amount. It's a projection based on current data. Your final benefit is calculated by ORS after they receive your employer's certified wage and service records following your last paycheck.

The Key Lines on Your Estimate

Final Average Compensation (FAC): This is the average of your highest consecutive months of compensation. If you're in the MIP, Pension Plus, or Pension Plus 2, it's your highest 36 consecutive months. If you're in the Basic Plan, it's your highest 60 consecutive months. The estimate shows the FAC figure ORS calculated from your reported compensation history.

Check this number carefully. If a year of unusually low pay (a leave of absence, reduced schedule) fell within your FAC window, it's pulling down your average. You may be able to improve it by working one more year to push the low-pay period out of the window.

Years of Service (YOS): Total credited service in the MPSERS system. One full year requires 1,020 hours in a school fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). Partial years are prorated. This number includes any purchased service credit (military, Act 88 reciprocal, TDP).

Pension multiplier: The standard multiplier is 1.5% for defined benefit service. Some Basic and MIP members who elected a lower multiplier under PA 300 of 2012 have a blended rate — service before February 1, 2013, at 1.5% and service on or after that date at 1.25%.

Straight Life annual benefit: The formula is FAC × YOS × 1.5% (or blended rate). Divide by 12 for the gross monthly Straight Life payment. This is the maximum monthly pension available before any survivor-option reductions.

Survivor Option amounts: The estimate shows what your monthly pension would be under each option — 100%, 75%, and 50% Survivor — based on the age of your designated beneficiary. The younger your beneficiary relative to you, the larger the actuarial reduction.

What the Estimate Doesn't Show

The miAccount estimate shows gross pension amounts. Your actual take-home is lower after:

• Federal income tax withholding — based on your W-4P elections
• Michigan state tax — subject to the Public Act 4 retirement-income deduction. In 2026, all birth years may claim the full applicable annual limit; most filers are subject to a combined public and private retirement-income cap.
• Health insurance premiums — if you enroll in MPSERS retiree coverage, your monthly premium (after any subsidy) is deducted directly from your pension check
• Survivor-option reductions — already reflected in the option-specific estimates

The estimate also doesn't account for the 3% annual post-retirement increase that MIP members receive. Your first-year payment is what the estimate shows, but if you're MIP, each subsequent year adds 3% of the initial baseline.

Running Equated Plan Estimates

To get an Equated Plan estimate, you need to provide your projected Social Security benefit at age 62. Request a benefit estimate from the Social Security Administration (ssa.gov or your local office). ORS uses that age-62 figure to calculate the pre-62 advance and the permanent post-62 reduction.

The estimate will show two amounts: the higher monthly payment from retirement through age 62, and the permanently reduced payment from age 62 onward. Remember that the age-62 reduction happens automatically regardless of whether you actually claim Social Security at 62.

What to Do Before You File

Compare your estimate against your actual compensation records. If the FAC or YOS looks wrong, contact ORS or your employer's payroll office before filing your application. Correcting records after retirement is significantly harder.

For a complete walkthrough of how to interpret each line and run comparison scenarios, the MPSERS Retirement Guide breaks down the estimate for every plan tier with worked examples.

See more Michigan guides →