Monthly Archives: March 2020

Your NYSLRS Pension is Secure

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You probably have a lot on your mind right now, but one thing you don’t need to worry about is your NYSLRS pension. Despite the turmoil in the financial markets, your retirement benefits are secure.

“I want to assure the more than one million men and women who rely on the State pension fund for retirement security that we are well-positioned to weather the ongoing volatility,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “To our retirees, your pensions are safe and we will continue to pay your benefits as promised.”

The New York State Common Retirement Fund, which holds and invests NYSLRS assets, has long been recognized as one of best managed and best funded public pension plans in the nation. The strength of the Fund puts NYSLRS in a good position as we navigate through the current economic turmoil.

The Fund’s professional managers take a conservative approach to investing and focus on sustained, long-term results. This approach allows the Fund to capitalize on investment opportunities in good times and cushions it against market ups and downs. In recent months, as they recognized increased volatility in the market, Fund managers began making adjustments to the Fund’s investment portfolio to prepare for an expected downturn in the economy. They are actively managing the Fund through these difficult times and are confident the markets will ultimately recover.

NYSLRS

We’re Here for You: Doing Business with NYSLRS from Home

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To protect the health of our members and employees, our NYSLRS consultation site offices are closed until at least March 30, 2020. The best method for customers who wish to submit documents and conduct business with us is through Retirement Online. There you can complete an estimate, update your information, and even file for retirement. 

All customers with previously scheduled appointments are being contacted and offered phone consultations. If you would like to schedule a phone consultation, or have retirement-related questions, you can contact us at 1-866-805-0990 (518-474-7736 in the Albany, NY area) or email us using our secure contact form.

Our NYSLRS’ essential staff continue to do Retirement System work. We are processing mail and applications, answering phone calls and responding to emails during this time.

Doing Business with NYSLRS from Home

What Can You Do in Retirement Online?

Retirement Online gives you an easy and secure way to review your NYSLRS benefit information and conduct transactions in real time. In many cases, you can use Retirement Online instead of sending forms through the mail or calling NYSLRS. Here’s a quick look at some of its features:  

  • Update Contact Information
    Do you have a new mailing address, email address or phone number? Make sure NYSLRS can get in touch with you by updating your contact information.
  • Update Your Beneficiary Information
    You can designate beneficiaries for your death benefits, and also make updates to existing beneficiaries.
  • Create a Pension Verification Letter or Mortgage Letter
    If you’re a retiree and need to provide proof of your retirement income, you can generate and print an income verification letter from your account. If you’re a member and need to verify your retirement account information, you can generate and print a mortgage letter when you need it.
  • Update Your Last Name
    If you changed your last name recently, you can change it online instead of submitting a Name Change form.
  • Change Your Correspondence Preference
    Would you prefer to receive emails from NYSLRS instead of mail? You can update your correspondence preference and receive an email notification from NYSLRS whenever we have updated information to send you. (Please note that some information, such as tax forms, will be sent by mail for security purposes.)
  • Estimate Your Pension (Members Only)
    You can estimate your pension benefit based on up-to-date account information, then save or print the estimate for your records.
  • Manage Loan and Service Credit Payments (Members Only)
    Need to pay back a loan or purchase service credit? You can adjust your payment amount or make a lump sum payment.
  • Apply for Retirement
    Ready to retire? You can file your service retirement application right from home.
  • Apply for a Loan (Members Only)
    Eligible members can apply online to take a loan out against their NYSLRS contributions.

If you need help with Retirement Online, please refer to our Retirement Online Tools and Tips blog post.

Other Ways to Get NYSLRS Information

Our Contact Us page contains helpful information and answers to questions you may have about your NYSLRS membership.

You can also receive NYSLRS updates by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as NYSLRS works to prevent the community transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19) while continuing to do its essential work.

A Message from NYSLRS About the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) has disrupted our daily lives in ways large and small. As New York and the rest of the nation work on treatment and containment of this virus, many New Yorkers are concerned about what the future will bring.

The New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) wants to assure retirees and members who rely on the state pension fund for fiscal security that it is well positioned to weather the volatility in the financial markets.  Your retirement benefits are secure and you will continue to receive your pension payments.

Retirees: Please Sign Up for Direct Deposit

As NYSLRS closely monitors the public health measures being taken to prevent the community transmission of the coronavirus, there are circumstances that could arise that impact the delivery of pension checks, particularly the ability of retirees to go to the bank to deposit them.

sign up for direct deposit to avoid interruptions as a result of the coronavirus

NYSLRS strongly urges retirees to consider signing up for direct deposit, instead of receiving a monthly pension by check via mail delivery. The vast majority of our retirees have their retirement and Social Security benefits deposited directly into their checking or savings account. Direct deposit is quick and safe. To enroll in direct deposit, complete the Electronic Funds Transfer Direct Deposit Enrollment Application (RS6370).

tax

Taxes and Your NYSLRS Pension

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Tax season is here again.

In late January, NYSLRS mailed tax information to retirees (and some members and beneficiaries) so they can file their taxes.

1099-Rs

NYSLRS pensions are not subject to New York State or local income taxes, but in most cases they are subject to federal taxes. In January, we mailed 1099-R tax forms to almost 500,000 retirees who receive taxable benefits. We also mailed 1099-Rs to beneficiaries who received taxable income from NYSLRS in 2019, members who have taken taxable NYSLRS loans or have defaulted on their loans, and those who ended their membership and withdrew their contributions in 2019.

tax info - 1099-R tutorial

A 1099-R shows:

  • The total benefit paid to you in a calendar year.
  • The taxable amount of your benefit.
  • The amount of taxes withheld from your benefit.

If you didn’t get your 1099-R, you can request a reprint. This year, reprints will be available for calendar years 2017, 2018 and 2019. Your 1099-R will be mailed to the address we have on file for you. Sign in to Retirement Online to check or update your mailing address before requesting a reprint.

If you have questions about the information on the form, we feature an interactive 1099-R tutorial on our website. It walks you through a sample 1099-R and offers a short explanation of specific boxes on the form.

Changing Your Federal Tax Withholdings

If you need to make changes to your federal withholding, you can send us a W-4P form at any time. You can use this form to change your withholding status, increase or decrease the number of your exemptions, or request that an additional amount be withheld.

You can use our federal tax withholding calculator to see how these changes would affect your withholding.

Please note: If you change your withholding, it may take a few months before the changes are reflected in your pension payments. You can look up your current payment breakdown, including tax withholding, using Retirement Online.