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​For questions about your pension, contact the New York State Teachers Retirement System: 518-447-2900

For questions about benefits offered by the district in retirement, please call Annette Sicuranza: 516-441-4037

For questions about what retirees receive from GNTA’s Benefit Trust Fund, contact Kevin Chavarria at the Dickinson Group: 516-829-9086.

If you are a "newer" teacher and would  like to preview Stacey Braun's webinar geared for your financial planning, check out: From Hire to Retire – Financial Planning for Newer Teachers (Years 1-10)

 DID YOU KNOW?

For Tier 2-5 members, your FAS is generally the average of your highest three consecutive school years of salary earned, whenever they occurred in the salary history.  Tier 6 members must use a five-year FAS with restrictions on includable salaries.

2020 ANNUAL MEETING OF NYSTRS DELEGATES

More than 500 delegates participated in NYSTRS' 2020 Annual Delegates Meeting held virtually on Monday, Nov. 9. They voted to re-elect Elizabeth A. Chetney to NYSTRS' Board. She is one of three active teacher members on the 10-member Board, which also includes a retired teacher. The meeting also featured educational presentations and the Delegate-Board/Staff discussion.

  • MyNYSTRS, our secure online portal for NYSTRS members, was refreshed to work smoothly and look its best on any device – cell phone, tablet or desktop computer. This video explains how the site has changed for the better. Don’t have a MyNYSTRS account yet? Join the 175,000 members who’ve already taken advantage of the ever-growing list of self-service tools available and sign up today!
  • NYSTRS launched a new four-part educational video series called RETIREMENT COUNTDOWN If your retirement is near, take sixty seconds to watch the Winter chapter to make sure you’re on the right track.
  • NYSTRS added a Ready to Retire page to their website, where you’ll find everything you need to know about filing for retirement. Watch our new video “The Retirement Process,” the final chapter in our four-part series on NYSTRS’ benefits. It includes key filing dates and decisions to make as you prepare to transition to the next chapter of life.
  • Closer to the start of your career? Visit the New Members page at NYSTRS.org. We’ve got quick, entertaining videos (such as "A Two-Minute Tutorial for New Members" and "PSI: Prior Service Investigation") as well as helpful brochures (including What New Members Need to Know About NYSTRS and Your First Look at NYSTRS).

As delegates, we had the opportunity to attend various educational breakout sessions. Following are the presentations from each:
  • The NYSTRS Year in Review: In this presentation, we examine the challenges of the past year and show how NYSTRS has continued to achieve our mission during these difficult times. This session covers topics like our COVID-19 response, implementation of laws and executive orders from this past year, new MyNYSTRS functionality, and our System’s financial strength. (Download presentation slides)
  • Delegate-Board/Staff Discussion: NYSTRS Board members and staff answer a wide range of questions submitted by delegates prior to the 2020 Delegates Meeting.  
  • Benefits Consultations at Your Convenience: NYSTRS is introducing a new feature for our benefit consultations program. You will now be able to meet with a System representative from your own computer, laptop or device. This provides you with more flexibility while you review the retirement process and receive personalized benefit estimates. In this session, we walk you through this new type of consultation in real time, and you may learn some important benefits tips along the way. ​​
  • Protecting Against Fraud: This year’s nationwide unemployment claim scam was just another in a growing list of fraud attempts against Americans. At NYSTRS, keeping our members’ personal information secure is a top priority. In this session, we highlighted the many measures we take to ensure data protection and online security. In addition, we discussed steps you can take to keep your information safe.

ANNUAL BENEFIT PROFILE UPDATE

Your 2019 Benefit Profile is now available, and for the third consecutive year it is a smaller, more user-friendly document. 
Issued annually with updated service and salary information critical in calculating your future retirement benefit, the Profile also offers you the opportunity to review beneficiary information so you can make any necessary changes. Depending on your membership status and eligibility, the document may also include:
  • Projections of service retirement benefits under different scenarios;
  • Disability and death benefit projections; and,
  • A summary of contributions and loan information (if applicable).

​Previously 12 or more pages in length, the Profile has been condensed so only the figures and descriptions members have indicated are the most critical are displayed. The new version of this document will be only four pages. Those with a date of membership of June 30, 2018 or earlier should receive their Profiles in the mail by the end of November. If you have a MyNYSTRS account and elected to forgo the printed version for an electronic version only, you will be able to access your Profile online in early November.

Remember, the GNTA is your local union -- we are NOT retirement experts.  Develop your own NYSTRS account by using the link below. It's easy; you just need your NYSTRS Employee ID number!

https://secure.nystrs.org/sma/security/RegisterAccount.aspx

Best,

Jen, Frank, Jeff and Luci

EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION RATE (ECR)
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The Employer Contribution Rate (ECR) is the percentage of member payroll employers contribute to NYSTRS.  This rate is determined annually through an actuarial valuation of NYSTRS' assets and liabilities. These contributions have been collected without fail throughout the System's history, keeping NYSTRS among the most secure plans in the country.

The 2020-21 rate charged to districts is 9.53 percent of school year salaries; the ESTIMATED 2018-19 rate will fall between 9.5 and 10 percent.  An Administrative Bulletin will be provided in February 2021 with a more precise estimate of this ECR.

​Take a look below for the history of the Employer Contribution Rate (ECR) in New York State (NYS):
​

NYSTRS RETIREMENT
-RELATED FORMS

Download and print NYSTRS forms. Call our Hotline at (800) 782-0289 to request forms be mailed to you.
Service Retirement Application (RET-54)

You can file a service retirement application up until your effective date of retirement, but no sooner than 90 days before your retirement date.
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Proof of Date of Birth (RET-45)

Distribution Election for ASF – Tier 1 and 2 (REF-30)

Direct Rollover of Taxable ASF (REF-30.2)
If filed, must submit with Distribution Election for ASF (REF-30).

Direct Rollover of After-Tax ASF (REF-30.3)
If filed, must submit with Distribution Election for ASF (REF-30).

Disability Retirement Application Package (RET-54.1; RET-54.3A; RET-54.5; RET-54.1B; RET-54.3).
Please refer to NYSTRS' pamphlet If You Are No Longer Able to Work, which offers guidelines for making disability retirement decisions.

Additional Medical Report for Disability Retirement Applicants (RET-54.3)
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Election of Retirement Benefit (RET-54.6).
To change the benefit payment choice you made on your retirement application, you may file this form within 30 days of your retirement date.

SERVICE CREDIT

1 Year of Credit

  • You will be covered by an in-service death benefit.
  • If you are a Tier 3-6 member who dies as the result of an accident sustained while teaching, an accidental death benefit may be payable to your beneficiary instead of the in-service death benefit.
  • If you are a Tier 3-6 member and the balance of your member contributions and interest is at least $1,334, you can take a loan from your funds. If you are a Tier 1 or 2 member, you must have a minimum of $400 in your Annuity Savings Fund to be eligible for a loan. For more information about loans, see our publication Borrowing From Your NYSTRS Contributions.
2 Years of Credit
​You will be eligible to purchase credit for prior service. For more information, see our publication You Deserve the Credit.

5 Years of Credit
If you are a Tier 3 or 4 member, your pension will be vested, and you will be eligible for a NYSTRS service retirement benefit at age 55.

10 Years of Credit
  • If you are a Tier 4 member, you will stop making 3% required contributions when you attain 10 years of credit or membership, whichever occurs first.
  • If you are a Tier 5 or 6 member, your pension is vested (earlier tiers vest at five years) and you likely will be eligible for a service retirement benefit at age 55. (Tier 6 members with an inactive membership must be at least 63 to retire.)
  • You may be eligible for a disability retirement benefit if you cannot continue to work because of an illness or injury.
  • If you leave teaching with at least 10 years of service credit and die before retirement, you will be covered by a vested death benefit of half the in-service death benefit that would have been paid on the last day of working.

20 Years of Credit
  • If you are a Tier 1 or 2 member, the pension factor used in your benefit calculation will no longer include a service-related reduction.
  • If you are a Tier 3 or 4 member, the pension factor used in your benefit calculation will increase from 1.67% per year to 2% per year.
  • If you are a Tier 6 member, the pension factor used in your benefit calculation will increase from 1.67% per year to 1.75% per year (i.e., 35% for your first 20 years) plus 2% for each year beyond 20.

25 Years of Credit
  • If you are a Tier 5 member, the pension factor used in your benefit calculation will increase from 1.67% per year to 2% per year.

30 Years of Credit
  • If you are a Tier 2, 3 or 4 member, you can retire without an age-related reduction to your pension factor when you attain 30 years of credit or reach age 62.
  • If you retire under Tier 4, you will receive an additional 1.5% per year toward your pension factor for each year of credit beyond 30 years.
  • If you are a Tier 5 member, you can retire without an age-related reduction to your pension factor when you retire either at: age 62 or later; or, at age 57 or later with at least 30 years of service credit.
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35 Years of Credit
  • If you are a Tier 1 member, you can retire at any age.

​It is important to HAVE ALL THE CREDIT FOR WHICH YOU ARE ELIGIBLE because your total service credit impacts your eligibility for NYSTRS benefits — and often the amount of those benefits. The following types of service can build your credit and help you reach important service milestones:

This information is meant to serve as a guideline. As always, go to NYSTRS.org for the most current information.

​NYSTRS presentation given by Trustee Ron Gross to GNTA & SAGES