RETURNING TO THE CITY
Depending on your years of service and your time away from the City, your prior service and contributions may be included in your pension calculation.
DEFERRED VESTED MEMBERS
If an ERF member with at least five years of credited pension service leaves employment with the City and leaves their money in the ERF pension plan, they are considered a deferred vested member.
Depending on when a deferred member started their initial employment with the City, they are entitled to a lifetime pension when they reach age 60 or 65.
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE TO DRAW YOUR PENSION
If you are a deferred member, ERF will notify you by mail 2 to 3 months prior to your 60th birthday for Tier A members or your 65th birthday for Tier B members to complete your retirement application.
If you have moved, click here Change of Address Form. If you have had any marital statue changes, contact our office at 214-580-7700 or send us an email at retirement_fund@dallaserf.org Be sure to include your deferred status in the subject line of your email.
READY TO RETIRE?
Deciding to retire is a big decision!
It is very important that you know if you are ready or not to retire. At ERF, we take pride in providing excellent service to our members as they plan for retirement.
WHEN CAN I EXPECT MY REFUND CHECK?
ERF processes refund checks once a month, click the link below for the refund check schedule.
If you have other questions about your refund, contact us at 214-580-7700.
SERVICE & CONTRIBUTIONS INCLUDED IN YOUR PENSION CALCULATION
There are three ways your prior service and contributions can be included in your pension calculation:
- You had at least five years of credited pension service when you left the City and you left your contributions in the Fund.
- You had less than five years of service when you left the City, but you left your contributions in the Fund and returned to the City within six years. Click here for the Benefit Reinstatement Application.
- You left the City and withdrew your contributions but are returning to the City within six years.
In this case, you may elect to receive credit for your prior service by making a one-time payment to ERF equal to the amount withdrawn plus interest. This buy back can only be made after one year with the City but must be made no later than three years after your return.
SERVICE & CONTRIBUTIONS NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR PENSION CALCULATION
Your prior service and contributions will not be included in your pension calculations if you either:
- Withdrew or forfeited your contributions and did not return to the City within six years.
- Withdrew your contributions and returned to the City within six years but failed to repay your contributions plus interest.
CALCULATING YOUR PENSION
There are three ways to retire from the City of Dallas:
NORMAL RETIREMENT
Under Normal Retirement, you can retire at age 60 with no minimum service requirement.
SERVICE RETIREMENT
Service Retirement states that you can retire after 30 years of credited service regardless of your age; however, if you are under age 50 at retirement, your pension will be actuarially reduced. For example, at age 49, it will be reduced by 6.7%; at age 48 it will be reduced by 12.8% and so on.
RULE OF 78
The Rule of 78 is the most common way City of Dallas employees retire. The Rule of 78 states that if your age and years of credited service add together to equal 78 or more, you can retire at or after age 50.
Your pension is calculated using a formula that includes your total service credit, the 2.75% multiplier and the average of your monthly pay during your three highest paid years or last 36 months. Your pension may not exceed 100% of your average monthly salary. Following is the formula used to calculate your pension:
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(Years of Service) x (2.75%) = % Monthly Salary Earned |
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(Average Monthly Salary) x (% Monthly Salary Earned) = Estimated Monthly Pension |
To help manage the costs of healthcare after you retire or to help your beneficiaries after your death, ERF will pay you a health benefit supplement in addition to your pension.
You will receive $25 per month for each full year of service credit, up to $125 per month.
Every year, ERF uses the Consumer Price Index to calculate a cost of living adjustment. These adjustments are made in January and may not exceed 5% of your base pension, the pension amount you received when you first retired, and will be added to your current pension amount.
There are three ways to retire from the City of Dallas:
NORMAL RETIREMENT
Under Normal Retirement, you can retire at age 65 with 5 years of pension service.
SERVICE RETIREMENT
Service Retirement states that you can retire after 40 years of credited service regardless of your age; however, if you are under age 65 at retirement, your pension will not be reduced.
RULE OF 80
The Rule of 80 states that if your age and years of credited service add together to equal 80 or more, you can retire at or after age 65.
Your pension is calculated using a formula that includes your total service credit, the 2.5% multiplier and the average of your monthly pay during your five highest paid years or last 60 months. Your pension may not exceed 100% of your average monthly salary. Following is the formula used to calculate your pension:
|
(Years of Service) x (2.5%) = % Monthly Salary Earned |
|
(Average Monthly Salary) x (% Monthly Salary Earned) = Estimated Monthly Pension |
Every year, ERF uses the Consumer Price Index to calculate a cost of living adjustment. These adjustments are made in January and may not exceed 3% of your base pension, the pension amount you received when you first retired, and will be added to your current pension amount.