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PERS outlines Tier 5 hybrid retirement plan and employer reporting steps ahead of March 1, 2026
Summary
The Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi briefed employers on Tier 5, a hybrid retirement plan created by House Bill 1 that takes effect March 1, 2026. Employers were told to split employee contributions (4% to PERS, 5% to Empower), complete mandatory trainings, and meet an April 7, 2026 reporting deadline for new hires.
Davetta Lee, PERS compliance counsel and director of defined contribution plans, told employers the session was intended to explain "the employer's role in enrolling and submitting contributions and reports to PERS, and separately to Empower for new PERS members." The law creating the new Tier 5 was passed as House Bill 1 and takes effect March 1, 2026.
Lee summarized how Tier 5 will work for employees hired on or after March 1: "Hybrid plan members will contribute a mandatory 9% of their salary," she said, and "4% will be directed to PERS for the defined benefit component, and 5% will be remitted to Empower for the defined contribution component." Employers must report and remit both the PERS (DB) and Empower (DC) amounts each month.
On benefits and vesting, Lee said the Tier 5 pension formula uses a 1% multiplier on average compensation and that the plan will use a "high‑8" (highest eight consecutive years) to calculate average compensation instead of the current "high‑4". She said Tier 5 members are eligible to retire at age 62 vested or with 35…
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