Member Benefits

Manage My Retirement Benefits

This information about pension checks, benefit summaries and forms helps current and former Plan members manage their pension benefits with the Allegheny County Employees' Retirement System (ACERS). Information is grouped according to employment status. Please scroll down to the appropriate accordion (Summary of Benefits, Apply for Retirement, Retired Members, Active Members, Transitioning Members, or Contact Us).

Contact the Retirement Director

Summary of Benefits

Becoming a Member

Re-employment Notices

Types of Retirement

Type Hired before 2/21/2014 Hired after 2/21/2014
Final Average Salary (FAS) Highest 52 pays of last 104. Highest 104 pays of last 208. Overtime is capped at 10%.
Full 50 – 70% of FAS when age eligible and at least 20 years of creditable service time. 50 – 70% of FAS when age eligible and at least 25 years of creditable service time.
Early - Age Between the age of 55 and 60, up to a 30% reduction of your accrued benefit calculated at 6% per year, prorated monthly. Between the age of 55 and 60, up to a 30% reduction of your accrued benefit calculated at 6% per year, prorated monthly.
Early – Service 20 – 50% of FAS for creditable service time between 8 – 20 years. 20 – 50% of FAS for creditable service time between 10 – 25 years.

Financial Wellness Program

Duncan Financial Group

Apply for Retirement

Employees must give department notice of termination prior to submitting paperwork to the Retirement Office.

For information on your active status benefits, such as accrued benefit time, health insurance coverage, purchased life insurance, etc., Allegheny County employees may contact a Human Resources Representative at 412-350-6830. Allegheny County Airport Authority employees may contact their Human Resources Administrator at 412-472-5533.

Application for Retirement(PDF, 316KB) – includes a listing of all forms necessary to apply for retirement. Any missing forms and/or documents will constitute an incomplete application and benefits may be delayed.

Beneficiary Forms

Retired Members

Retiree Checks

Pension checks are mailed on the 4th Thursday of each month. Download the Retirement pension check dates(PDF, 138KB).

Tax Filing

1099-Rs are mailed by January 31 for the previous year's income. If you have not received your 1099 by February 10, contact the Retirement Office to verify your address or to request a reprint.

Verification of Income

Contact the Retirement Office to request a verification of income. Please provide your full name and last four digits of your SSN. We will mail the letter to you within 24 business hours.

Re-Employment

If you are considering re-employment with Allegheny County or the Allegheny County Airport Authority, please read the Re-employment Notices above under the "Summary of Benefits" tab.

Deaths

Please contact the Retirement Office to report a death as soon as possible. When a death certificate is available, please send a copy to:

ACERS
106 County Office Building
542 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Or you may fax it to 412-350-3923.

We will reconcile the final benefit and, if applicable, start the survivor benefit and initiate the life insurance claim on behalf of the beneficiary.

Forms

Forms for updating pension benefits.

Active Members

Forms and information for individuals currently employed by the County of Allegheny or the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

Members planning to retire should access forms from the Apply for Retirement section.

Beneficiary Forms

Contributions

contact the Retirement Office to request a Statement of Contributions. Contributions may not be borrowed against, pledged or withdrawn prior to termination.

Military Service Credit

Pension Benefit Estimate

  • Estimate Request form(PDF, 251KB) – Written requests may take up to 5 working days to process and will be mailed to the address on file.
  • Alternatively, active employees that are logged into a work computer, may access the Online Pension Benefit Calculator. Please note that airport employees have a different process. Contact your HR Department for assistance.

Qualified Domestic Relations

Re-Employed Members

Important information for employees who are rehired on or after February 21, 2014.

Service Time Repayment

Workers' Compensation

Transitioning Members (Non-vested and Vested)

This is an informational list of forms for individuals considering a change in job status. Forms are mailed to the former employee upon termination notice by the employer and payout of final earnings.

If the information is not received by 2 weeks after final pay, please contact the Retirement Office.

Current Deferred Vest members should access forms under the "Apply for Retirement" tab above to begin a monthly benefit.

  • Deferred Vest – Keep contributions with the Plan until the age of retirement has been reached.
  • Lump Sum Refund – A refund option is provided for all employees who did not meet the vesting status. This option is also available to those vested in lieu of a monthly pension benefit.
  • IRA Rollover – A rollover option is provided for all employees who did not meet the vesting status. This option is also available to those vested in lieu of a monthly pension benefit.

Contact Us

Use the online Contact form to:

  • Retiree change of address - provide your name, a phone number where you can be reached, and the new address. You can also complete and send us the Change of Address form(PDF, 283KB).
    Note: This Change of Address form is for retired members or members in Deferred Vest status only. Active members must change their address through the Controller's Office.
  • Report a deceased retiree/spouse – provide your name, a phone number where you can be reached, and the name of the deceased member or both the name of the deceased member and deceased spouse, if the spouse was an elected survivor or if the spouse is receiving a survivor's pension.
  • General questions.

Please do not include sensitive, non-public personal information (i.e. full social security number, etc.) in an email to us.

You must include a valid phone number or the ability to reach the member, Power of Attorney (POA) or other authorized person, to verify transactional information.

We do not send out sensitive information to personal email addresses. Many forms requires an ink signature, which cannot be reproduced via scan or fax. Any such request to change member information without the proper form will not be processed.