Retirement Process

• During your visit with P.E.R.A, you will receive a letter indicating your Retirement Date or Estimated Date of Retirement.
• If your retirement date is within 6 months, you will be required to submit an Application for Pension. 

Once you have submitted your retirement packet to a PERA office, and have received a retirement letter from PERA or a date-stamped copy of the Application for Pension, contact the City of Albuquerque Insurance & Benefits office.  If you are considering Early Retirement, an Estimate of Benefits can be used in lieu of the retirement letter.

Once you have received the required documents from P.E.R.A., contact the City of Albuquerque, Insurance & Benefits Division. 

Send an Email to I&B View Contact Information

What to expect when contacting Insurance & Benefits:

• Request a retirement appointment with an Insurance & Benefits Specialist.
• The Insurance & Benefits Specialist will ask you to provide the letter from P.E.R.A., with your Retirement Date or your Estimated Date of Retirement.
• The Insurance & Benefits Specialist will ask you if you are interested in using your sick and vacation leave for Early Retirement. If you are considering Early Retirement, you can download the Early Retirement Calculator.
• An appointment will be set for you based on your situation.

• During your appointment Early Retirement will be discussed and calculated using an Early Retirement Spreadsheet. 
• Discuss the cash out options for sick and vacation leave balances.  The City of Albuquerque allows retirees to defer any sick and vacation balances into a deferred compensation account. This allows the dollar amount of the leave balances to be tax deferred.
• The Insurance & Benefits Specialist will provide information regarding the end of your City of Albuquerque benefits and your option to obtain coverage; including the New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority.
• Retiree Life Insurance information will be provided at the time of the retirement appointment. You will be required to provide beneficiary information.
• Once all information has been discussed and finalized, the employee will sign all necessary forms to include:
  • Employee Notification of Retirement. This document will specify all important dates including, Early Retirement dates (if applicable), Cash-Out Method, additional leave balances and benefits termination.
  • Retiree Life Insurance Notification. This document will specify the amount of Retiree Life Insurance coverage and the beneficiaries assigned by the employee, at the time of the Retirement Appointment.  The beneficiary can be updated at anytime.
  • Conversion or Portability forms and information will also be provided, if applicable.
• The City of Albuquerque Retirement process can not be finalized without written documentation from P.E.R.A., as discussed in Step 1.

• Contact their department and follow any out-processing procedure required.
• Contact their deferred compensation representative, if applicable.  A retiree must contact a deferred compensation representative prior to retirement, if deferring any leave balances.
• Contact the New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority – If employee plans to obtain coverage with the NMRHCA:
• please contact their office, at least 30 days prior to requested effective date of coverage
• Contact the Social Security Administration, if applicable.

• Pre-Retirement Seminar Calendar
• Pre-Retirement Seminar Information
• Administrative Instructions
• P.E.R.A
• Social Security Administration
• Insurance & Benefits Contact Information
• New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority
• Deferred Compensation Information
• Retiree Life Insurance Information
• Early Retirement Calculator
• FAQs About Retirement