Most retirement calculators are built for people with 401(k)s. Teachers don’t have 401(k)s. We built tools that actually reflect how teacher retirement works.
Teachers have pension formulas tied to years of service and final average salary. They have 403(b)s and 457(b)s as supplements. Nine states don’t tax retirement income at all. Every state has different pension contribution rates, vesting periods, and benefit multipliers. Generic calculators capture none of this.
We built state-specific tools that pre-load your pension system’s actual contribution rates, average teacher salaries, and current IRS limits — so you can model reality, not a hypothetical.
The average teacher works 27 years before retiring. Planning those years effectively can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional retirement security. The right information makes that possible.
Every state’s calculator is tuned to its specific Teacher Retirement System (TRS), State Teachers Retirement System (STRS), or equivalent. When you visit the Texas calculator, it knows about TRS of Texas contribution rates. When you visit California, it knows about CalSTRS. This specificity matters.
For each of the 50 states, the calculator models compound growth of a supplemental 403(b) or 457(b) retirement account. These are the voluntary contribution accounts that sit alongside your defined-benefit pension.
This is not a pension benefit calculator. Your defined-benefit pension is calculated by your state pension system using your exact service years, salary history, tier, and retirement age — factors we don’t have access to and cannot model reliably.
For your pension estimate, contact your state’s retirement system directly. Most state pension systems provide online benefit estimators that take your actual employment record into account.
This tool models the supplemental savings component of teacher retirement — the voluntary 403(b) and 457(b) accounts that most financial planners recommend funding alongside your pension.
See our full disclaimer and methodology pages for complete information about data sources and calculation assumptions.
Pension system data (contribution rates, benefit formulas, vesting periods, social security coverage) is sourced from each state’s official Teacher Retirement System website and the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) Teacher Pension database. Salary data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics.
State income tax rates are sourced from each state’s Department of Revenue. Tax treatment of pension income varies significantly by state — some states exempt all pension income, some tax it fully, and some have partial exemptions. We note these distinctions where relevant.
We review and update pension contribution rates annually (typically in September when states release new fiscal year data) and update tax rates when state legislatures make changes. The last full data review was completed in early 2025.
TRS Calculator is not affiliated with any state pension system, financial product provider, or investment firm. We don’t sell investment products, receive referral fees, or accept advertising from financial services companies. Our only interest is helping teachers make more informed retirement decisions.