MoDOT & Patrol Employees’ Retirement System
Understanding Final Average Pay
When members think about their future retirement benefit, they often focus on years of service or retirement eligibility. While those factors are important, another key component of your pension calculation is your Final Average Pay (FAP).
Final Average Pay is the average of your highest 36 full consecutive months of pay during your career. For many members, these are their final three years of employment, but that is not always the case. MPERS reviews your entire pay history to identify the highest 36 consecutive months and uses that figure when calculating your retirement benefit.
Your retirement benefit is calculated using three main factors:
Credited Service × Multiplier × Final Average Pay = Monthly Base Benefit
Because Final Average Pay is part of the benefit formula, changes in your earnings over time can affect your future pension benefit. Generally, as your pay increases throughout your career, your Final Average Pay may increase as well.
It is important to remember that Final Average Pay is based on an average, not a single paycheck. A temporary pay increase may have less impact than higher earnings maintained over a longer period.
This is why members who receive salary increases several years before retirement often see a greater effect on their future benefit than those who receive an increase shortly before retiring.
While retirement may still be years away, understanding Final Average Pay can help you appreciate how your pension grows throughout your career. Every year of service and every stage of your career contribute to building your future retirement benefit.
To see how your current earnings and service credit affect your future pension, log in to myMPERS and use the benefit estimate tool. Running estimates periodically can help you track your progress and better understand how different retirement dates may affect your monthly benefit.