Tag Archives: know your benefits

NYSLRS Basics: Member Contributions

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As a NYSLRS member, you may be making or have made contributions as part of your membership. When you make contributions, a percentage of your salary joins a pool of money called the Common Retirement Fund (the Fund). The Fund is also made up of employer contributions and investment income. By investing contributions, the Fund helps to meet its obligation of paying out benefits to past, present and future retirees.

What this means for you is that you, and other members like you, are all doing your part to fund your future retirement.

Types of Member Contributions

If you belong to a contributory retirement plan, you make required contributions. This means you must make contributions for the length of time listed in your retirement plan. Some members may contribute for only part or all their public service careers. If you belong to a non-contributory plan, this means you aren’t required to make contributions. Instead, you could make voluntary contributions over the course of your career, if your plan allows it. This would provide you with an annuity in addition to your pension when you retire.

(Check out the “Contributing Toward Your Retirement” section in your specific retirement plan publication to see what contributions you make.)

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Withdrawing Your Member Contributions

What happens to your contributions if you leave public employment? One option is to take your contributions with you. If you have less than ten years of service credit or aren’t vested, you can withdraw your contributions plus the interest they’ve earned. However, withdrawing your contributions also terminates your membership with NYSLRS. Once your membership ends, you won’t be eligible for a retirement benefit.

Another option is to leave your contributions where they are. After all, if you leave public employment, there’s a chance you may return as well. If you do, then your contributions will be waiting for you when you rejoin NYSLRS. If you don’t return to public service, aren’t vested, and have been off the public payroll for seven years, by law we must terminate your membership. Any contributions left will stop accruing interest.

If you have ten or more years of service credit, you can’t withdraw your contributions from NYSLRS. In that situation, if you’re vested before you leave public employment, you can apply for a retirement benefit at a later date (age 55 for most members).

(Read our publication “What If I Leave Public Employment?” for more information, particularly the taxability of withdrawing your contributions.)

If you have questions, visit our website to learn more about member contributions. Want to read more NYSLRS Basics? Check out our earlier posts on:

NYSLRS Basics: Pension Payment Options

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When you retire, you need to decide how we’ll pay out your retirement benefit. You do that by choosing a pension payment option. Each payment option provides you with a monthly benefit for life. Nine of our payment options let you receive a smaller benefit so you can provide for a beneficiary when you die. There is also an option that pays you the largest amount of your benefit, but pays nothing to a beneficiary.

Read the full descriptions of our payment options on our website.

Payment options

Filing Your Option Election Form

When you’ve decided which payment option you’d like, you need to file an option election form. You must file before the first day of the month following your retirement date. If you file on time, you have 30 days before you receive your first benefit payment to change your payment option. If you miss this deadline, we’re required by law to process your benefit based on the basic retirement benefit listed in your plan. (The Single Life Allowance (Option 0) is the basic retirement benefit for some plans, while the Cash Refund — Contributions (Option ½) is the basic retirement benefit for others. Check your retirement plan publication to see what your options are.)

What To Consider When Choosing A Payment Option

Choosing your payment option is a big decision. Once the 30-day deadline has passed, you can’t change your payment option. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • Do you want a payment made to one or more beneficiaries after your death?
  • Do you know about your beneficiary’s future income in retirement? Will your beneficiary receive their own pension? How much will they receive from Social Security benefits or other retirement savings accounts?
  • Do you have life insurance coverage? Life insurance payments could help your beneficiary make ends meet.
  • What are your financial obligations? Will your beneficiary have enough income to cover expenses if you die?

The answers to these questions can help you decide which option meets your needs. If you have any questions, email us from our website.

Would you like to read more NYSLRS Basics posts? Check out our earlier post on when you can retire.

NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time: ERS Tier 2

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When you joined the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), you were assigned to 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) – so there are many different ways to determine benefits for our members. Our series, NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time, walks through each tier and gives you a quick look at the benefits members are eligible for before and at retirement.

NYSLRS created Tier 2 on July 1, 1973, marking the first time NYSLRS created any new member group. Today’s post looks at one of the major Tier 2 retirement plans in ERS. ERS Tier 2 as a whole represents less than one percent of NYSLRS’ total membership.

ERS-Tier-2-Benefits_001aIf you’re an ERS Tier 2 member in an alternate plan, you can find your retirement plan publication below for more detailed information about your benefits:

Be on the lookout for more NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time posts. Next time, we’ll take a look at another ERS tier. Want to learn more about the different NYSLRS retirement tiers? Check out some earlier posts in the series:

NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time: PFRS Tier 1

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When you joined the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), you were assigned to 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) – so there are many different ways to determine benefits for our members. Our series, NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time, walks through each tier and gives you a quick look at the benefits members are eligible for before and at retirement.

Today’s post looks at Tier 1 in the Police and Fire Retirement System, which has only 123 members. PFRS Tier 1 represents the smallest percentage – 0.4 percent – of NYSLRS’ total membership.

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If you’re a PFRS Tier 1 member, you can find your retirement plan publication below for more detailed information about your benefits:

Be on the lookout for more NYSLRS – One Tier at a Time posts. Next time, we’ll take a look at another one of our ERS tiers. Want to learn more about the different NYSLRS retirement tiers? Check out some earlier posts in the series:

What is the New York State Employees Survivor’s Benefit Program?

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Members of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) become eligible for a death benefit after one year of service. However, if you’re a New York State employee (meaning that you work for the State of New York), your beneficiary can also receive a death benefit from the Survivor’s Benefit Program for State employees.

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Eligibility Requirements for the Survivor’s Benefit Program

You don’t have to enroll in the program; your beneficiary is eligible to receive this benefit if, at the time of your death:

  • You were a full-time employee or officer of New York State
  • Your regularly scheduled work week equaled 20 or more hours (or your annual salary was at least 1,000 hours times the State minimum wage) and
  • Your salary was paid directly from State funds

There are also other eligibility requirements for the Survivor’s Benefit Program.

How Much Your Beneficiary Will Receive

This program supplements NYSLRS’ ordinary death benefit payment if that payment
is less than one-half of your annual salary, or if you don’t qualify for any ordinary death benefit payment.

The maximum amount payable to your beneficiary is $10,000; the minimum amount is $2,000. Both amounts include the ordinary death benefit paid by NYSLRS plus your survivor benefit. If your beneficiary is eligible to receive a NYSLRS ordinary death benefit of more than $10,000, this program will not provide any additional benefit.

Also, if NYSLRS pays an accidental death benefit, a $2,000 survivor’s benefit will also be paid to your beneficiary.

If you have questions about the program, read our publication, The Survivor’s Benefit Program for New York State Employees. If you have questions about any other retirement-related matters, please contact us.