How Defined Benefit Works
The MERS Defined Benefit (DB) Plan is a qualified retirement plan under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, offering your employees a secure lifetime benefit that does not fluctuate with investment gains or losses.
Formula
Eligible employees earn a retirement benefit based upon a three-part formula.
The DB formula is determined by multiplying an employee’s final average compensation (FAC) by years and months of service (service credit) by a benefit plan multiplier (established by the employer). Then, that number is divided by 12 to determine the monthly (Straight Life) benefit amount.
View Formula Details
Final average compensation (FAC)
The average of the highest consecutive wages over a defined period of time as determined by the employer, usually three to five years.
Service credit
The total amount of qualified periods of work, including any purchased service credit. Employees earn service credit for each month of work that meets the employer’s requirement. For more information view the Service Credit Purchase page.
Benefit multiplier
The benefit multiplier ranges from 1.0% to 2.5%, and is chosen by the employer. Multipliers of 2.25% and higher have a maximum benefit of 80% of FAC.
Funding The Plan
Defined benefit plans can be funded by three sources: employer contributions, employee contributions, and earnings on investments. Watch 
DB Funding video. MERS investment earnings fund more than half the contributions.
In a defined benefit plan, contributions vary from one year to the next. Watch Investment Return Assumption video. Required contributions are reported in the Annual Actuarial Valuation and consist of two components: Normal Cost and Amortization of any Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL). View more on AAVs.
Plan Advantages
There are many benefits of the MERS Defined Benefit Plan.
Sound Investments
The MERS Retirement Board assumes the role of plan fiduciary for the defined benefit plan. Your interests are our number one priority when making decisions that affect the plan. As the plan fiduciary, MERS saves your municipality time and resources by handling all the due diligence surrounding fund selection, monitoring, and compliance.
The MERS Defined Benefit Portfolio is a well-diversified portfolio that provides downside market protection with upside market participation. MERS Target Asset Allocation policy has three main goals: capital preservation, capital growth, and inflation protection.
Reduced Fees
As a multiple-employer plan, MERS creates economies of scale by pooling together assets for investment purposes. As our customers continue to grow, the assets we manage for you grow. This allows you and your employees the benefits of an over $19 billion dollar pool, including keeping costs low as well as access to trusted MERS funds and other publicly traded mutual funds.
Fiduciary Responsibility
As the sole fiduciary for our retirement plans, MERS takes on the liability for selecting the investment options, monitoring fund performance, and ensuring fees are reasonable. Learn more about fiduciary responsibility.