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Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS) Retirees (General)
Not all MERS employers provide a COLA to all retirees. Eligibility to receive a COLA depends on the type of COLA the member’s employer elected to provide and when that COLA went into effect. Members who already receive an Annual COLA are not eligible to receive a “4-Year” COLA.
Retirees of the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS) who retired before June 30, 2012 AND whose Annual COLA is currently suspended are eligible for the “4-Year” COLA. The COLA is applied to the first $33,130 of a pension and will begin in the month following the member’s date of retirement.
Additionally, General MERS retirees who retired before June 30, 2012 and did not receive a COLA prior to June 30, 2012, but were contributing at 7% are also eligible for the “4-Year” COLA. The COLA is applied to the first $33,130 of the member’s pension benefit and will begin in the month following the member’s date of retirement.
General MERS retirees who retired after June 30, 2012 and were contributing at 2% become eligible for the “4-Year” COLA after reaching Social Security Normal Retirement Age (SSNRA) or the threeyear anniversary of the member’s retirement date, whichever is later. The COLA is applied to the first $33,130 if you retired on or before June 30, 2015 and if you retired after June 30, 2015 it is applied to the first $27,608. In both cases it will begin in the month following the 3-year anniversary of the date of the member’s retirement or the SSNRA, whichever is later.
Upon registering, you will be provided with a system-generated Login ID. Please save both your Login ID and the password you create and keep them in a safe place. Once you have registered, you will be able to login to:
- Update your phone number and e-mail address.
- Review your pension account information, including service, contributions, and beneficiary information on file.
- Estimate your future benefits with the Pension Projection Tool.
- Directly link to your Defined Contribution account with TIAA.
If you encounter any issues registering or logging into your account, please contact the ERSRI Member Service Center and we will be happy to assist you.
The Member Service Center is available at (401) 462-7600 from Monday - Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. You may also contact ERSRI for registration or support using our Contact Us page.
To learn more, visit the website for the Office of the General Treasury.
Login to the ERSRI Member Portal by clicking the button below. Please note that the first time you visit the Member Portal you will need to register in order to access your account online.
Designate a Beneficiary
At the time of hire and following major life events, including marriage, divorce, births and deaths, all members should review the beneficiary information on their ERSRI retirement account to ensure that it is up-to-date. Use the link below to learn more about designating a beneficiary.
Register for an ERSRI Online Retirement Account
First time users can self-register online if you have an email address on file with ERSRI. For more information about how to register click the link below.
For most Correctional Officers, there is a minimum retirement eligibility age. For some, your retirement eligibility may mirror your Social Security Normal Retirement Age (SSNRA). Based on your retirement schedule, your retirement age and required years of service may differ. Your schedule is determined by the date you were hired and the number of years of service you had at certain points in time.
Here are the retirement schedules for correctional officers:
- Schedule CO: members who were 50 years old or older and had at least 20 years of contributory service in the Department of Corrections by September 30, 2009 are eligible to retire.
- Schedule CO1E: members who were not eligible to retire as of September 30, 2009 but became eligible by June 30, 2012 by attaining 55 years of age – proportionally scaled back based on the number of years of service as of September 30, 2009 – can retire with 25 years of contributory service within the Department of Corrections.
- Schedule CO1NE: members who were not eligible to retire by either September 30, 2009 or June 30, 2012 are in this schedule. Their retirement eligibility is age 55 with 25 years of contributory service within the Department of Corrections OR the Social Security Normal Retirement Age with at least 5 years of contributory service.
- Schedule CO2: members who were hired on or after October 1, 2009 (through June 30, 2012) are retirement eligible at age 55 with 25 years of contributory service within the Department of Corrections OR Social Security Normal Retirement Age with at least 5 years of contributory service.
- Schedule CO3: members who were hired on or after July 1, 2012 are retirement eligible at age 55 with 25 years of contributory service within the Department of Corrections OR Social Security Normal Retirement Age with at least 5 years of contributory service.
Click the link below for annual accrual information for your schedule.
Combining Time
If you do not have 25 years of service as a Correctional Officer, but have contributory service as both a Correctional Officer and a State employee, ERSRI will combine your time to determine your earliest eligible retirement date and the schedule that will apply to the calculation of your benefit. Your retirement age isequivalent to your Social Security Normal Retirement Age with adjustments according to the State employee schedule that will apply to you, or is determined using the Rule of 95, whichever is lower.
For members with combined Correctional Officer and State employee time, the combined time will be used to calculate your retirement benefit. You will receive a single benefit, combining the accruals from your years of service in each position.
If you have combined time as a Correctional Officer and a State employee, we urge you to contact the ERSRI Customer Service Center at (401) 462-7600 for your eligibility date and benefit estimate instead of referring to the online member portal, which may not be accurate.
Need Directions to ERSRI?
ERSRI is located at 50 Service Avenue, 2nd floor, Warwick, RI 02886.
