The Employee’s Responsibility

Employees must apply for retirement in order to start receiving their pension. To apply, by law, the appropriate application must be “filed with the Office of the State Comptroller” within a specific time period. Applications and documents employees give to you have not been filed with the Office of the State Comptroller. It’s important to advise the employee that they must submit their retirement application and other retirement-related documents directly to NYSLRS.

Service Retirement Benefits

Once an employee meets the minimum service credit and age requirements for their retirement plan, they are eligible for a service retirement benefit.

Disability Retirement Benefits

If an employee becomes permanently disabled and cannot perform their duties because of a physical or mental condition, they may be eligible for a disability retirement benefit. As an employer, you can file a disability application on behalf of your employee, but other applications or documents must be filed by the employee.

The Employer’s Role

After the employee retires and you make final payment for any accrued unused, unpaid sick leave, vacation, overtime, etc., you must submit final payment and service information to NYSLRS. Receiving accurate, timely information when your employees retire is critical to calculating their pension benefits.

Rev. 1/26