The fastest way to view or update your beneficiaries is in Retirement Online. You should also review their contact information so we can find them when needed.

• Sign in to Retirement Online.
• Look under My Account Summary.
• Click View and Update My Beneficiaries button.

NYSLRS pensions are defined benefit plans, also known as traditional pension plans. 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. Member contributions support the benefits earned by current and future retirees and are an important asset of the Common Retirement Fund, which holds and invests the money used to pay NYSLRS benefits.

Sign in to Retirement Online to check your current contribution balance, which earns interest annually and determines the amount you would be eligible to borrow if you decided to take a NYSLRS loan. If you were to die in service, your contribution balance would be paid to your beneficiary, in addition to any death benefit your beneficiary is eligible for.

Defined benefit plans are supported by contributions from both members and employers. Employers make annual contributions to the Common Retirement Fund, which holds and invests the money used to pay NYSLRS benefits. Employer contributions are based on the salaries of all their employees and the pension plans offered to their employees. The contribution rates paid by employers are set annually by the NYSLRS Chief Actuary and approved by the Comptroller.

Here are two common reasons why your estimated death benefit is not listed on your Statement:

• You have less than one year of total service credit; or
• You are off the payroll of a participating employer and have less than five years of service credit.

Find your retirement plan publication for information about how your death benefit would be calculated.

To find out your estimated death benefit amount, mail a written request to:

NYSLRS
Benefit Calculation and Disbursement Services
110 State Street
Albany, NY 12244

Please include your NYSLRS ID (provided on your Statement) and your signature in your letter.

The “Total Credited Service” listed in your statement is as of March 31, 2025.

Sign in to Retirement Online to view your current total estimated service credit, including your employment history and reported earnings for the last five years.

We receive your earnings information from your employer. The amount listed is the pensionable earnings they paid you during the State fiscal year (April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025). ​The earnings information in your Statement may not be what you were expecting:

• Depending on your retirement plan and tier, certain payments (for example, meal and uniform allowance) cannot be used in calculating your pension and are not included in the salary shown on your Statement; or
• Your employer may not have reported your March earnings to us in time to include them in your Statement.
• The information in your Statement is for the fiscal year, so it will not match the calendar year earnings in your W-2 tax form.

If you feel your earnings information is not correct, contact your payroll office. If there is a discrepancy, your employer must send us an adjustment report requesting a change.

If you worked for a public employer before joining NYSLRS or if you were in the military, you may be eligible to request additional service. You should submit your request as early in your career as possible when records we need to verify your service are more readily available. And the sooner you purchase your credit, the less it will generally cost, and it allows you time to pay for the credit, if necessary. We must receive your request for previous service credit before your date of retirement.

To request credit for additional service:

• Sign in to Retirement Online.
• Click Manage My Service Credit Purchases button.
• Click Request Additional Service Credit link.

For most members, your Statement provides a projected monthly retirement benefit to help with retirement planning. 

The amount is an automated calculation based on your retirement plan and reported earnings through March 31, 2025. For most members who have: 

• Not yet reached full retirement age, your estimate is based on your projected service credit at your full retirement age.
• Already reached full retirement age, your estimate is based on your actual service credit using a retirement date of March 31, 2025. 

Sign in to Retirement Online to estimate your pension based on the current earnings and service information we have on file for you. You can fine-tune your estimate or see how different choices would affect your benefit by entering:

• Different retirement dates or ages.
• A beneficiary’s date of birth to see pension payment options that provide a lifetime benefit.
• The percentage your earnings will increase each year.
• Additional service credit if you plan to purchase service credit from a previous membership, prior employment or military service that’s not already accounted for.
• Whether you’re retiring with an outstanding loan.

To save or print your estimate, you may have to disable popup blockers.

The projected benefit in your Statement is an automated calculation that only uses information we have on file for you as of March 31, 2025. During a pre-retirement consultation, customer service representatives may add information supplied by you, such as sick leave accruals and lump sum payments, to the calculation of the projection. This information has not yet been reported by your employer, so it is not included in the projected benefit provided in your Statement.

Statements are available in Retirement Online.  (Note: 2021-2025 are currently available online.)

You may request a reprint for 2025 after the mailing is complete, usually in July, using our secure contact form (select Member Annual Statement from the Topic dropdown). Your reprint should be mailed within 2 to 4 weeks.

Here are the most common reasons why you may not have received your Statement:

• Your Statement was mailed but the address we have on file for you was not current. Update your contact information to make sure you receive your Statement.
• You had an open retirement case before May 1, which means you will be retiring and will no longer be an active member.
• You withdrew your membership or transferred it to another public retirement system, which means you are no longer an active member.
• Your membership benefits have been suspended pending compliance with one or more NYSLRS requirements (for example, a record of activities is required for some elected and appointed officials).
• Your membership is no longer active (you were not vested when you left public employment, and you have not been employed by a participating employer for seven or more years).
• You joined NYSLRS during the fiscal year, but your employer did not report any earnings or days worked.
• You joined NYSLRS, but your enrollment wasn’t completed by March 31.

If you chose email as your delivery preference and didn’t receive an email notifying you, the email address we have on file for you may not be correct. Update your contact information to make sure you receive your next Statement.

If your email address is correct, please check your spam or junk folder. If you’re using a work email address, the email server may also be blocking our emails. We recommend using a personal email address you will have access to before and after you retire, not a work address.