Monthly Archives: October 2021

A Look Inside NYSLRS

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NYSLRS provided pension benefits to 496,628 retirees and beneficiaries during the State fiscal year that ended on March 31. These benefits are paid out through the New York State Common Retirement Fund (the Fund).

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli is administrative head of NYSLRS and trustee of the Fund. Over the past century, the Fund has provided retirement security for generations of public employees in New York, and today it is widely recognized as one of the best-managed and best-funded public retirement funds in the nation.

A look inside NYSLRS

NYSLRS Membership                                                          

But NYSLRS is more than just the pension fund. The system had 675,519 members as of March 31. Here are some facts about our membership:

  • 501,890 active members (that is, members still on a public payroll) work for 2,967 public employers statewide.
  • About one-third of those active members work for New York State. The rest work for counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts and public authorities.
  • Nearly 94 percent of total active members are in the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS). The Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) accounts for 6 percent of total active membership.
  • More than 48 percent of all Retirement System members are in Tier 6.
  • Nearly 54 percent of PFRS members are in Tier 2, while about 40 percent are in Tier 6.
  • In ERS, 48.6 percent of members are in Tier 6, while 45.2 percent are in Tiers 3 and 4.

NYSLRS Retirees and Beneficiaries

The average pension for an ERS retiree was $25,783 as of March 31, 2021; the average for a PFRS retiree was $56,695. But these pension payments don’t just benefit the System’s retirees and beneficiaries. Because 79 percent of our retirees and beneficiaries live in New York, most of the pension benefits stayed in the State. And that money supported local businesses, paid local taxes and generated economic development statewide.

Learn More About NYSLRS

Extensive information about our members and retirees, the Fund and Fund investments can be found in the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. This report includes detailed information about the Fund’s investments, strategies and financial position. It also provides details about NYSLRS’ 1.1 million members, retirees and beneficiaries. For example, the report shows where retirees live across the State, across the nation and around the world.

NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time: ERS Tier 6

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When you join the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), you’re assigned a tier based on the date of your membership. There are six tiers in the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) and five in the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS). Each tier has a different benefit structure established by New York State legislation. Our series, NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time, walks through each tier to give you a quick look at the benefits in both ERS and PFRS.

Today’s post looks at ERS Tier 6, which includes anyone who joined ERS since April 1, 2012. There were 311,469 ERS Tier 6 members as of March 31, 2021 making them the largest tier group in ERS.

ERS Tier 6

ERS Tier 6 Membership Milestones

ERS Tier 6 members need ten years of service credit to become vested. Once vested, they’re eligible for a lifetime pension benefit as early as age 55, but if they retire before the full retirement age of 63, their benefit will be reduced. Tier 6 correction officers, however, can retire with 25 years of service, regardless of age, without penalty.

The Final Average Earnings (FAE) Calculation

An ERS Tier 6 member’s final average earnings is the average of their earnings in the five highest-paid consecutive years of employment. Earnings in any year included in the period cannot exceed the average earnings of the previous four years by more than 10 percent.

Tier 6 Service Retirement Benefit

Generally, if an ERS Tier 6 member retires with less than 20 years, the benefit is 1.66 percent of their FAE for each year of service. If a member retires with exactly 20 years of service, the benefit is 1.75 percent of their FAE for each year of service (35 percent of the member’s FAE).

If a member retires with more than 20 years of service, they receive 35 percent for the first 20 years, plus 2 percent for each additional year. For example, a member with 35 years of service can retire at 63 with a pension worth 65 percent of their FAE.

Where to Find More ERS Tier 6 Information

ERS Tier 6 members can find more details about their benefits in the publications listed below:

For benefit information about special plans for other job titles, please visit our Publications page. Stay tuned for more NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time posts.

Crunching the Numbers: A Short Guide to Retirement Calculators

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A good estimate of your post-retirement income is essential to retirement planning. But estimating your income becomes a little tricky when you need to calculate income from several sources. Fortunately, there are retirement calculators available to help you.

online calculators

NYSLRS Benefit Calculator

A good place to start is with the NYSLRS online benefit calculator. Most members can create a pension estimate in minutes using Retirement Online. A Retirement Online estimate is based on the most up-to-date account information we have on file for you. You can enter different retirement dates to see how those choices would affect your benefit.

Social Security Calculators

The Social Security Administration (SSA) hosts a variety of calculators that you may find helpful. The SSA’s Quick Calculator, which uses information you enter, provides a rough estimate of your Social Security benefit. The Retirement Estimator, which estimates your benefit based on your actual Social Security earnings record, is more refined, but you’ll need to enter your Social Security number and other personal information.  

You can also calculate when you will be eligible for full Social Security benefits and estimate your life expectancy.

Savings Calculators

If you are saving for retirement, a simple savings calculator can show you how your money can grow over the years. But simple calculators assume a fixed amount of savings each month. In reality, most people increase their retirement savings as their income grows. With more sophisticated calculators, like this 401k Retirement Calculator, you can account for salary increases over time. (Note: The 401k Retirement Calculator works with other types of retirement savings plans, including 457(b) plans like the ones offered by the New York State Deferred Compensation Plan.)

Savings Withdrawal Calculators

Savings withdrawal calculators like this one are designed to help determine how much savings remains after a series of withdrawals. These are especially helpful tools to use when trying to determine how long your retirement savings will last. Enter the starting amount, how much to withdraw and how often, and an expected final balance will be calculated.

While the calculators mentioned above are great planning tools for before and after retirement, remember that their results are only estimates.

Countdown to Retirement – 4-6 Months to Go

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The countdown to retirement continues. Here are a couple of things you should do four-to-six months before your retirement date to make sure you stay on track.

Countdown to Retirement - 4-6 months to go

Locate Proof of Your Birth Date

Before NYSLRS can pay out any retirement benefits, we will need proof of your date of birth.

For most people, locating that proof is no big deal — a photocopy of your driver’s license will do. But if you don’t have proof of your birth date readily available, this is a good time to look for it or arrange to get a replacement. This is especially important if you need to write to an out-of-state registry or a foreign country for the necessary document.

If you intend to leave a lifetime pension benefit to a beneficiary after your death, we will need proof of their birth date as well.

In most cases, we will accept a photocopy of your proof of date of birth, and you can submit it when you apply for retirement online or by mail. If you mail us the original, we will return it to you.

Acceptable documents for proving your date of birth include your:

The National Center for Health Statistics’ website contains information for each state on where to write for your vital records.

Review Your Retirement Budget

In our Countdown to Retirement – 12 Months to Go blog post, we recommended that you calculate your retirement income and expenses. But circumstances can change in six months, so now is a good time to review your post-retirement budget and make any necessary adjustments. At this point, you may have a clearer picture of your retirement income or you may be aware of expenses that you didn’t consider earlier. A budget review will help ensure that you are still on track to retire on your terms.

If you missed it, be sure to read the first post in our series, Countdown to Retirement –  18 Months to Go. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for the final installment of this series.

The Police and Fire Retirement System

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NYSLRS is actually two retirement systems: the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) and the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS).

PFRS, which provides retirement benefits for police officers and paid firefighters, is the smaller of the two systems, with about 32,000 active members. A third of PFRS members work for cities, while almost 19 percent work for New York State. The remainder work for towns, counties and villages.

There are five tiers in PFRS, reflecting when the members joined the system: Tiers 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 (there is no Tier 4 in PFRS). Tier 2, which includes PFRS members who joined the Retirement System from July 31, 1973 through June 30, 2009, is the largest tier, accounting for almost 55 percent of PFRS membership.

If you joined PFRS on or after April 1, 2012, you are in Tier 6.

Ninety-eight percent of PFRS members are in special retirement plans that allow for retirement after 20 or 25 years of creditable service. If you are in one of these plans, once you have the full amount of required service, you can retire at any age.

Some PFRS members are in regular retirement plans, which require a member to reach a certain age before they are eligible for a pension.

police and fire infographic

As a PFRS member, you’ll pass a series of important milestones throughout your career. Knowing and understanding these milestones will help you better plan for your financial future.

Service Credit

Service credit is a key in determining your eligibility for a pension and other benefits, including the amount of those benefits.

Under most 20- and 25-year plans, not all public employment is creditable. Usually, police and firefighting service can be counted as special-plan service. You may also be able to use military service to help you reach 20 or 25 years. If you have questions about the service that can be used to calculate your pension, please check your retirement plan booklet or contact us.

PFRS Plan Booklets

You can find details about your NYSLRS benefits in your retirement plan booklet.

For the majority of PFRS members, that’s the Special 20- and 25-Year Plans booklet. This booklet is for PFRS Tier 2, 3, 5 and 6 members covered by Sections 384, 384-d and 384-e of the State Retirement and Social Security Law.

If you are a PFRS member who works for New York State, your booklet is based on your specific job. There are separate booklets for State Police, Forest Rangers, Regional State Park Police, State University Police and EnCon Police.

If you are not covered by one of the plan booklets listed above, you can find your booklet on our Publications page. If you’re not sure what retirement plan you’re in, you can find that information in the My Account Summary section of your Retirement Online account. You can also check your Member Annual Statement, ask your employer or email us using our secure contact form.