Your Pension and Planning for Retirement

Your Pension and Planning for Retirement

MAP YOUR PROGRESS TOWARD RETIREMENT

Learn what factors will impact your pension and some key elements of planning for retirement. Remember, the decisions you make now will have an impact on your later years. It’s important to be informed and start planning early to create financial security later in life.

 

Your NYSLRS Pension

Defined Benefit Plan

As a NYSLRS member, you are part of 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 NYSLRS pension will be based on your retirement system, tier, retirement plan, service credit and final average earnings. In some cases, your age is also a factor.

Retirement System

NYSLRS administers two systems: 

  • The Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), which provides benefits to employees of participating public employers in non-teaching positions outside of New York City, including uniformed services personnel, such as correction officers and sheriffs.
  • The Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), which provides benefits for police officers and firefighters of participating public employers outside of New York City.

Tier

When you joined NYSLRS, you were assigned to one of six tiers based on your date of membership and retirement system.

Retirement Plan

In addition to your retirement system and tier, the retirement plan you’re enrolled in determines your benefits and how your pension will be calculated, so it’s important to find your retirement plan publication and refer to it throughout your career.

Service Credit

Service credit is a major factor in calculating your pension benefit. You may be able to request additional service credit if you worked for your current or another public employer before joining NYSLRS or if you served in the U.S. Armed Forces and received an honorable discharge from active military duty.

Final Average Earnings

Your Final Average Earnings (FAE) will be the average of your highest three consecutive years of earnings in New York public employment, subject to certain limitations. Usually, this period is the three years of employment immediately before you retire, but it can occur at any time during your career.

Age

Members in regular retirement plans can retire with full benefits at the age specified by their plan or choose to retire as early as age 55. However, for most members, there is a benefit reduction for early retirement.

Members in special retirement plans can retire after completing their plan’s minimum service requirement, regardless of age.

 

Retirement Planning

Determine Your Retirement Needs

Use our Income and Expenses Worksheet to help you track your current spending habits and project your future needs.

Estimate Your Pension

Finding out how much you can expect to receive is an important part of retirement planning. Most members can estimate their pension using Retirement Online in just a few quick and easy steps. Retirement Online uses your current earnings and service information to calculate your estimate. And you can fine-tune your estimate or see how different choices would affect your benefit by entering different retirement dates and or a beneficiary’s date of birth.

Supplement Your Pension with Retirement Savings

It’s a good idea to supplement your pension with retirement savings. Start saving early in your career so your money will have more time to grow, even if you can only afford to save a small amount in the beginning.

Resources

Visit our NY Retirement News blog for more retirement planning and financial literacy tips, such as:

Preparing for Retirement or Ready to Apply?

Find guidance on preparing for retirement, including topics to consider and actions to take. When you’re ready to apply for retirement, you can do everything online—learn about what you’ll need to submit and what to expect after applying.