Your 16 to 25 Years
At this stage, retirement has shifted from a distant idea to a real, plannable horizon. The decisions in this window carry more weight because they are closer to the numbers that will actually determine your pension.
Final Salary and Final Compensation
Your final compensation - generally your highest one or three-year average salary, depending on your tier - is locked in based on your final working years. See our final compensation guide for how late-career salary changes affect this number.
Sick Leave Service Credit
Unused sick leave may convert to additional service credit at retirement. Understanding roughly how much you have accumulated - and confirming it officially with CalSTRS - is worth doing well before you file. See our sick leave guide.
Retirement Timing
With 16 to 25 years in, you likely have a realistic window of potential retirement ages to compare. See our retirement age guide for how a few additional years can shift your pension amount.
Healthcare Before Medicare
If you are considering retiring before age 65, healthcare coverage in the gap years before Medicare eligibility is an important and sometimes overlooked planning question worth addressing well in advance.