As long as you remain qualified you may continue receiving a Disability Allowance until you are 60 years old; however, if you have eligible dependent children, the termination of your Disability Allowance at age 60 is postponed until your children are no longer eligible. When your disability benefit ceases, you may be eligible to apply for a service retirement.

Six months before your 60th birthday, CalSTRS will send you a letter informing you that your Disability Allowance will terminate, and enclose an application for service retirement with an estimate of your Member-Only retirement benefit. Your retirement benefit is calculated using projected final compensation and projected service credit for the time you were on disability. You will receive the lesser of either: 1) your Member-Only service retirement benefit; or, 2) your existing disability benefit amount.

Please return your service retirement application as soon as possible to avoid any disruption in payment of your benefits.

CalSTRS strongly recommends that you arrange for a retirement interview prior to filing your service retirement application. A benefits counselor will outline the retirement alternatives and options available to you and provide you with an estimate of your retirement benefits under each.

Revised August 2008