Tag Archives: defined benefit pensions

Retirees Contribute: A Century of Economic Impact

Over the past century, NYSLRS has provided pension security for retired public workers, whose spending has contributed to the economic strength and stability of their communities.

In every corner of the Empire State, NYSLRS retirees shop at local stores and patronize local businesses, which in turn helps create jobs. NYSLRS retirees also pay a significant share of local taxes.

Retirees Contribute: A Century of Economic Impact

Economic Stability

Spending by NYSLRS retirees provides something else for their communities: economic stability.

Because a NYSLRS pension is a defined-benefit retirement plan, retirees and beneficiaries receive a guaranteed monthly payment for life. Defined-benefit plans, which pay benefits based on a pre-set formula, differ from defined-contribution plans, such as a 401k, which are essentially retirement savings accounts.

Recipients of defined-benefit plans don’t have to worry about their money running out during retirement or a drop in their monthly income because of a dip in the stock market. They are better able to maintain their spending during economic downturns, which helps local businesses stay afloat during hard times.

That stability is particularly important in rural parts of the State, which are more susceptible to downturns because they lack the economic diversity of more-urban areas.

Defined-benefit pensions don’t just help New York State. Across the nation, these pensions are benefitting millions of pensioners and their communities. In 2018, defined-benefit pension plans paid $578.7 billion to 23.8 million retired Americans, and their spending supported 6.9 million jobs and generated $1.3 trillion in economic activity, according to a study by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS).

NYSLRS and Public Employers: A Partnership That Works

When the Retirement System was created in 1921, it served a single employer: New York State. But that would quickly change as a series of new laws allowed local governments and other public employers to join the system.

In May 1922, Steuben County was the first county to join, and Newburgh became the first city the following month. In 1923, Onondaga was the first town and Avon was the first village to sign on. The Roosevelt Public Library on Long Island became the first library to join in 1924. In 1935, the system was opened to school districts and other public employers.

NYSLRS and Public Employers partnership

The NYSLRS Partnership

Today, close to 3,000 public employers participate in NYSLRS, and they employ about two-thirds of the system’s roughly half million active members. These employers’ active involvement has helped make NYSLRS one of the largest public retirement systems in America, serving 1.1 million members, retirees and beneficiaries.

This partnership includes a shared commitment to providing secure pension benefits to New York’s public employees. Participating employers make annual contributions to help fund the future benefits of their employees. Each year NYSLRS’ actuary calculates the contribution rates required to ensure that adequate assets are being accumulated to pay benefits. These contributions along with member contributions and our investments are what fund promised benefits. As a result, NYSLRS is one of the best-funded public retirement system in the country, with an estimated Fund value of $254.8 billion as of March 31, 2021.

How NYSLRS Benefits Public Employers

Being part of NYSLRS allows municipal employers, regardless of their size, to offer prospective workers an attractive benefits package, including a defined benefit pension. With a defined benefit pension, those employees can be assured of a lifetime benefit during their retirement years.

In a recent survey, a majority of public employees said pensions are an important recruiting and retention tool. Eighty-six percent cited retirement benefits as a major reason they stay in their jobs. Another survey indicated that the general public agrees that pensions, particularly for public safety employees, are a good way to recruit and retain public workers.

How NYSLRS Benefits Communities

The benefits provided by NYSLRS help ensure that local governments can attract qualified and committed people to perform essential public services. Our members are police officers, firefighters, forest rangers and nurses. They plow roads, monitor water supplies, drive school buses, inspect restaurants, process unemployment claims and provide other vital services.

What’s more, after they retire and begin collecting their pensions, most NYSLRS members remain in New York, where they continue to contribute to their communities. In 2019, spending by NYSLRS retirees generated more than $15 billion in economic activity statewide and helped create an estimated 77,900 jobs.

Public Employees Value Their Retirement Benefits

A recent survey gauged how important retirement benefits are to state and local government workers, and the crucial role that pensions and other benefits play in recruiting and retaining workers.

In 2015, more than 19 million Americans worked for state or local governments, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Retirement benefits, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans, were available to most of those workers.

Last year, the National Institute on Retirement Security commissioned a survey of more than 1,100 public sector employees. Teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public workers were asked questions on a variety of work-related subjects, from job satisfaction to health care benefits. The majority of public workers surveyed (86 percent) cited retirement benefits as a major reason they stay in their jobs.

retirement benefits

Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution

An overwhelming number (94 percent) of government employees surveyed said pensions help attract and retain workers. The same percentage had a favorable view of defined benefit pension plans.

As a NYSLRS member, you are part of a defined benefit plan, also known as a traditional pension plan. Your pension is a lifetime benefit based on years of service and earnings. It is not based on your individual contributions to the Retirement System.

With defined contributions plans, such as 401(k)-style retirement savings plans, the employer, employee or both make contributions to an individual retirement account. The money in the account is invested, and the amount the employee has at retirement is based on investment returns. A market downturn can affect the value of the benefit and employees risk outliving their money.

When Retirement Benefits Get Reduced

In an effort to cut costs, some state and local governments have replaced defined benefit plans with defined contribution plans. But these moves have had unexpected consequences.

The Institute’s study cites the experience of Palm Beach, Florida, which gutted its defined benefit plan. The town soon realized that it was spending large sums to recruit and train new police officers, only to see them move to nearby communities with better benefits. The town reconsidered and improved its pension plan.

Then there’s the case of West Virginia, where officials found that switching to a defined contribution plan for teachers actually cost more money. Because the traditional pension plan stopped receiving contributions from new teachers and their employers, it became harder for the state to meet its pension obligations. After 14 years, the state went back to offering a defined benefit plan to all new teachers. Teachers already in the 401(k)-style plan were allowed to switch to the traditional plan, and 79 percent made the switch. State officials project that the return to a defined benefit system will save them $1.2 billion in the first 30 years.

Meanwhile, Alaska is still struggling with its decision to drop its defined benefit plan. A report by the Alaska Department of Public Safety cited “the inability to provide a defined benefits retirement system” as a factor in the “critically low staffing levels” for Alaska state troopers.