Retirement Education
Pre-Retirement Full-Day Seminars
Pre-Retirement Full-Day Seminars offer general information on a range of topics including estate planning, Mississippi Deferred Compensation Plan & Trust, Social Security benefits, Mississippi State and School Employees' Life and Health Insurance Plan, and PERS benefits and options.
These pre-scheduled seminars, which run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., are offered to PERS members at no cost but require pre-registration for members, spouses, and guest. If a spouse or guest is a PERS member, please register them separately.
Seminar Registration/Cancel Seminar Registration
Pre-Retirement Full-Day Seminars do not provide individual counseling sessions. To schedule an individual session with a PERS representative, call 601-359-3589 or 800-444-7377.
Mississippi Deferred Compensation One-on-Ones
Mississippi Deferred Compensation (MDC) is a voluntary supplemental tax-deferred 457(b) retirement savings plan offered through PERS to all state employees, elected officials, employees of participating political subdivisions, and independent contractors of the state or participating political subdivisions.
The plan is administered by Empower on behalf of PERS and provides new and existing MDC members complimentary and comprehensive one-on-one sessions with retirement plan advisors. These virtual meetings typically run 45 minutes and cover topics such as savings strategies, investment recommendations, and retirement income planning. Additionally, in-person meetings may be available in your area of Mississippi or in the Jackson office on select days. For additional information, e-mail contact.mdcplan@empower.com.
One-on-One Registration
Learn more about MDC
To speak with a participant services representative for general MDC inquiries or requests, call 800-846-4551.
Focus Sessions
Focus Sessions are small-group sessions where PERS staff provides all registered members in attendance an Estimate of Benefits, comprehensive information about benefits, and available benefit options, as well as information on the retirement process.
These two-hour Focus Sessions are provided at no cost but require pre-registration for members, spouses, and guests. If a spouse or guest is a PERS member, please register them separately.
Session Registration/Cancel Session Registration
Focus Sessions do not provide individual counseling sessions. To schedule an individual session with a PERS representative, call 601-359-3589 or 800-444-7377.
Video Focus Sessions
For those who are unable to attend a live or virtual Focus Session, we have created a series of 11 videos with all the same information presented at our in-person sessions.
Click here to view the complete video Focus Session series.
Early Career/New Employee Virtual Seminars
Early Career/New Employee Seminars offer an overview of PERS and what it means to be a part of a defined benefit plan like PERS, as well as provide insight about the benefits of enrolling in Mississippi Deferred Compensation Plan & Trust (MDC).
These hour-and-a-half virtual seminars are conducted the first Tuesday of each month (beginning February 4, 2025) and are available to any interested early career or new employee. To register for a virtual seminar, click here.