Effective Jan. 1, 1997, some of the age factors used to calculate monthly retirement income will increase.

This change, approved by the UC Regents at their May 17 meeting, affects age factors for ages 55 and four months through age 59 and 11 months and is not retroactive for those who have already retired.

Age factors for members under age 55 and four months and for members age 60 and over will not change.

Department benefits counselors have been sent the UCRP Retirement Income Estimate Worksheet containing current age factors and an attachment which includes the Jan. 1, 1997, age factors.

Employees interested in comparing benefits under both sets of factors should ask their department benefits counselors for the UCRP Retirement Income Estimate Worksheet and corresponding attachment.

This change is not an "early retirement incentive" (as described in several misleading articles in major Bay Area newspapers).

While it will increase retirement benefits to some degree for certain members as shown in the example below, the change was primarily designed to smooth the age factor compression that resulted from lowering the maximum age factor from age 63 to 60 without a uniform smoothing throughout the age factor matrix.