How to fill the gap: Maintain your standard of living in retirement
It's important to consider how much of your working salary you'll need in retirement. On average the CalSTRS' Defined Benefit replaces 50 to 60% of an educator's salary, yet financial planners recommend replacing 80 to 90% of your salary to maintain your current standard of living.
The difference between the amount of money your CalSTRS monthly retirement benefit will provide and and the amount you'll need in retirement is known as "The Gap." It's important to set realistic savings goals and take steps today so you'll be able to meet your income needs in retirement.
You can bridge the gap through supplemental savings, purchasing service credit and working longer.
Learn more about closing the gap in the CalSTRS Member Handbook.
Learn more about supplemental savings plan Pension2.
CalSTRS is fully committed to providing accessible facilities, elements and
channels of communication to all members of the public. As part of this commitment, CalSTRS
has a policy of providing an accessible website compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and
commercial screen reading software. All features of the website are coded to allow individuals with vision and
other impairments to understand and use the website to the same degree as someone without disabilities. We welcome
feedback and can often resolve issues in a timely manner if they arise.
If you need any special assistance or accommodations:
CalSTRS has designated a compliance officer for website disability-related accommodations.
The compliance officer has received training in website accessibility and updates the site in accordance with those best
practices. Contact our accessibility officer to report an issue.
Compliance Procedures and Reports
In addition to testing with users with a wide range of disabilities and coding our website to WCAG standards,
CalSTRS regularly scans its website to ensure ongoing compliance, and makes timely
changes to any inaccessible changes, if any are found.
Linked Documents and Third Parties
Please note that this site may link out to third-party websites, such as state or federal agencies, that do
not have accessible content. This site may also include documents provided by third parties included in our
agenda packets, for example. While we cannot control the accessibility of content provided by third parties,
we are happy to assist any member of the public with reading and accessing content on our site.