Tier 2 offers worse
benefits for new teachers: it has a higher minimum service requirement (up from five to 10 years, making it more difficult for new teachers to qualify for a minimum
benefit), a higher normal retirement age (meaning teachers have fewer years to collect pension payments over a lifetime), a less generous pension
formula (calculating the final average salary from the last eight years of service instead of just four), and a lower COLA.
This number goes into a three -
tiered formula designed to provide a higher percentage
benefit to people with lower earnings, but a higher total
benefit to people with higher earnings.