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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 Monica Martin at the Cottage: 516-829-9070

 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.

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

2018 ANNUAL MEETING OF NYSTRS DELEGATES

Jeff Bernstein, Frank Bua, Luci Legotti and Jen Snyder attended the 2018 Annual Meeting of NYSTRS Delegates on behalf of the district on Nov. 4-5 Saratoga Springs.  Here's a happy recap:
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  • Ron Gross of William Floyd Union Free Schools was re-elected to the Board. His new three-year term begins in January.
  • A variety of seminars were offered, with topics ranging from the various services NYSTRS offers to the rules for working in retirement.
  • Delegates took part in a question-and-answer period with the NYSTRS Board and staff.



As delegates, we had the opportunity to attend various educational breakout sessions. Following are the presentations from each:
New at this year’s meeting was the use of graphic recording to visually capture key points of the various presentations. Links to each are below:
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ANNUAL BENEFIT PROFILE UPDATE

Your 2018 Benefit Profile will be available soon and you’ll notice some big changes that result in a much smaller 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,

Frank , Jen,  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 2017-2018 rate charged to districts is 9.8 percent of school year salaries; the ESTIMATED 2018-19 rate will fall between 10.5 and 11 percent.  An Administrative Bulletin will be provided in February 2018 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):
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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.