Most State and municipal employees are required to join the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) when they are hired. But for some employees, membership is optional, meaning you are not automatically enrolled. To join NYSLRS, you must submit a membership application to your employer, who will then enroll you in NYSLRS. It’s important to understand the valuable benefits of NYSLRS membership and why you should join as soon as possible.

Whose Membership is Optional or Mandatory

Membership is optional if:

• You work less than 12 months per year, including 10-month school employees working full-time;
• You work less than 30 hours per week or less than the number of hours for full-time employment, as established by your employer for your position;
• You are in a temporary or provisional position (under Civil Service Law); or
• Your annual compensation is less than New York State’s minimum wage multiplied by 2,000 hours.

Membership is mandatory if:

• You are in a permanent, full-time, 12-month position of an employer who participates in NYSLRS; and
• You are in a full- or part-time position covered by the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), such as police officers and firefighters.

If you aren’t sure whether you’re a member, your employer should be able to let you know. Contact us if you have questions.

Benefits of Joining NYSLRS

NYSLRS is one of the largest retirement systems in the world, administering benefits for more than 1.2 million members, retirees and beneficiaries.

If you aren’t sure whether to join NYSLRS, here are the advantages:

• Your NYSLRS pension is a defined benefit plan. When you retire, you will receive a monthly pension payment for the rest of your life. Once you reach retirement age, you can retire with as few as five years of service credit (part-time service is pro-rated).
• You can request additional service credit for your public employment before joining NYSLRS or if you served in the U.S. Armed Forces and received an honorable discharge from active military duty.
• You can transfer service if you are still a member of another public retirement system in New York State.
• You can reinstate service if you withdrew your membership in NYSLRS or another public retirement system in New York State.
• You can take a loan against your retirement contributions once you meet eligibility requirements.
• NYSLRS retirement plans provide death and disability retirement benefits.

Nearly 3,000 employers participate in NYSLRS, allowing you to continue your membership if you take a job at another New York State public employer. And if you decide to leave public employment before you have ten years of service credit, you can withdraw your contributions plus interest or roll over your contributions into another retirement savings plan.

NYSLRS Membership Basics

Once you join and become a NYSLRS member:

• You are assigned to a tier based on your date of membership. New members are in Tier 6.
• You are required to contribute a percentage of your earnings toward your retirement. As a Tier 6 member, your contribution rate (between 3%–6%) will be based on your earnings.
• You receive service credit, which is a major factor in calculating your pension, for all your public employment beginning with your date of membership. (Learn how school employees earn NYSLRS service credit.)

Don’t Delay Joining

It’s important to join NYSLRS at the start of your employment. If you don’t join right away, you can purchase service credit for your public employment from before you became a member, but it will cost more—6% of your earnings plus interest rather than contributing a percentage based on your earnings. Also, while you can request previous service credit and pay for the cost at any time, you must earn two years of service credit as a NYSLRS member before your purchased service can be credited.

Get Credit for All Your Public Service

Because service credit is a major factor in calculating your pension benefit, it’s important to make sure you get credit for all your public service. Once you join NYSLRS, you should request any additional service as early in your career as possible.

• NYSLRS will need time to request records from your previous employer or retirement system.
• The sooner you purchase your credit, the less it will generally cost.
• Requesting early gives you time to pay for additional service.

Your request will be reviewed to determine your eligibility. We will send you a letter with the amount of service credit you are eligible to receive if you choose to purchase it, the cost and payment options. There are certain situations where purchasing additional service credit will not increase your pension. For more information, read about whether should you purchase additional service credit.