The laws governing your NYSLRS retirement benefits can be confusing. Sometimes a small misunderstanding can have a big impact. So, let’s get prepared to make decisions based on facts, not common retirement myths.
Retirement Myths vs Facts
My NYSLRS pension is like a 401(k)-style retirement savings account, and I will get my contributions back when I retire.
Your NYSLRS pension is a defined benefit plan, also known as a traditional pension plan. When you retire, you will receive a monthly pension payment for the rest of your life. Your pension will be calculated using a preset formula based on your earnings and years of service—it will not be based on the individual contributions you paid into the system.
If I work for more than one NYSLRS participating employer at the same time, the service credit from both jobs will count toward my pension benefit.
You can only earn one year of service credit in a 12-month period. If you work part-time for two participating employers, you would receive service credit from both, up to the maximum of one year. However, if you work full-time for one NYSLRS employer and part-time for another, you would only receive one year of service credit.
For full-time employees of a school district, you receive one year of service credit per school year, even if you only work 10 months of the year. So, you won’t receive additional service credit for working over the summer.
NYSLRS administers health insurance coverage for its retirees.
NYSLRS does not administer health insurance programs. We may deduct premiums from a retiree’s monthly pension benefit to pay for health insurance coverage if their former employer instructs us to do so, but we can’t answer questions about coverage or changes in premium amounts.
If you are planning to retire soon, your employer’s human resources or personnel office should be able to answer your questions about post-retirement health insurance coverage. If you retired from a New York State agency, the New York State Department of Civil Service administers the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP). If you retired from a county, city, town, village or school district, contact your former employer.
I can take out a NYSLRS loan after I retire.
To be eligible for a NYSLRS loan, you must be a NYSLRS member and actively working for a NYSLRS participating employer. Once you retire, you cannot take out a NYSLRS loan.
NYSLRS will automatically start paying my pension as soon as I’m eligible.
Your pension is not automatic. To begin collecting your pension, you must meet the minimum age or service requirements established by your retirement plan and apply for retirement 15 to 90 days before your chosen date of retirement.
Use Retirement Online
Retirement Online is the fastest and most convenient way to access your retirement account information and conduct business with NYSLRS. If you don’t have an account or for help signing in to an existing account, check out our Retirement Online tools and tips for step-by-step instructions to register, reset your password, unlock your account and more.
For More Information
Check out Retirement Myths—Part 2 where we debunk five other retirement myths. You can also find answers to the most common questions we receive from members and retirees on our Contact NYSLRS page.
Hello,
I was wondering why I didn’t receive a whole year of credit last year?
I work full time and have for many years and this year I was only credited for .96 of a year
For account-specific questions, please call our customer service representatives at 866-805-0990. Press 2, then follow the prompts. You can also message them using our secure contact form. Filling out the secure form allows them to safely contact you about your personal account information.
I worked many years as a Board of Election worker. Does this time add to my pension calculation as a city employee?
You may be able to request additional service credit if you worked for a participating employer like the New York State Board of Elections before joining NYSLRS.
In most cases, you have to pay to receive additional service credit. The sooner you purchase your credit, the less it will generally cost. You must apply for any additional service credit that you wish to receive before you retire. After you apply, we’ll determine whether you’re eligible for the credit and how much it would be.
For more information, including how to request additional credit, read our Requesting Additional Service Credit blog post.