Can you provide more specifics around pension eligible?

Sure. Lets look at each component of the formula above.

Average of your highest 4 years of earnings. The Pension Office looks at the pension eligible earnings of a retiring employee for each of the 10 full calendar years immediately preceding the year of retirement. (For example: an employee planning to retire any time in 2006 would have his or her earnings examined for years 1996-2005). The Pension Office would then select the 4 years out of these 10 with the highest earnings. The average of the earnings in those 4 years would be used in the pension calculation.

An employee may apply to the Retirement Allowance Committee to use earnings from years prior to the employee's last 10 calendar years immediately preceding retirement if such earnings would result in a higher benefit.

Amount of Creditable Service.
Creditable service with the Authority means the number of years and full calendar months of employment with the CTA from the time an individual becomes an employee as defined in the Plan until his or her retirement date.

An individual hired after May 15, 1980 becomes an employee for pension purposes one year after being hired as a full time permanent employee by the Authority. If an individual was hired on or before May 15, 1980, the individual becomes an employee for pension purposes when he or she was hired as a full time permanent employee.

Multiplier. The current Multiplier is 2.15% (.0215).