Ever wonder what a CalPERS member’s journey looks like from the start of their career to their golden years and beyond? The graphic below highlights key milestones based on data from fiscal year (FY) 2023–24, of a group of approximately 15,000 CalPERS members. This data offers a deeper understanding of the retirement journey over this specific fiscal year.
The Journey Begins: Membership at Age 39.1
The average CalPERS member in this group began their career in public service at the age of 39.1. This starting point reflects the diversity of CalPERS members, who include classified school members, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants.
Building Service Credit: 20.3 Years
Members accrued an average of 20.3 years of service credit before retiring in this group of members. Service credit is the foundation of pension benefits, as it’s one component of a member’s pension benefit formula that directly determines the monthly allowance retirees receive.
For comparison, all miscellaneous service retirees for the FY also averaged 20.3 years of service credit, while safety retirees on a service retirement worked 23.5 years. Miscellaneous retirees are those that are not involved with law enforcement, fire suppression, or the protection of public safety.
Retirement at Age 61.5
In this group of members, the average member retirement age was 61.5 years old, which was nearly one and a half years older than the average age of all service retirees for the FY of 60.1.
This data point underscores the need to consider your age when you retire. The earlier you retire, the longer you will enjoy your retirement benefits, but your monthly payment may be lower. The later you retire, the higher your monthly payment might be, but the shorter your retirement period will be.
Living in Retirement: 20.7 Years
On average, retirees spent 20.7 years in retirement, highlighting the importance of having a robust financial plan in place before retirement.
A Full Life: 82.2 Years
The journey concludes with an average life expectancy of 82.2 years for this CalPERS group. This figure reflects the stability that members can expect from a secure retirement.
How Can You Prepare for Retirement?
This journey highlights the unique lifecycle of CalPERS members. By comparing yourself to the CalPERS facts, you can get a better understanding of how you stand in relation to other retirees and what options you have before you retire.
If you’re nearing retirement, you can use our various tools and resources such as our retirement planning checklist to help you prepare for your retirement. The sooner you start planning, the better off you will be in retirement.
It is important to note that this data is derived from a snapshot of approximately 15,000 CalPERS members who passed away during FY 2023–24. While this provides a detailed perspective on the typical member experience, it also reflects trends specific to this group, such as their demographic and service characteristics. The trends shown may not fully encompass the experiences of all active and retired members, but still provide valuable insights for retirement and longevity planning.
Learn more about CalPERS pensions by reading Facts at a Glance Retirement Plan Members (PDF). You can also read our other Facts at a Glance for more information.