Retirement Countdown

Fall: Review and Evaluate

Fall marks the start of the school year.  It also marks the start of your countdown to retirement.  In addition to attending your last open house, here are some other steps you should take during the fall.

Attend a NYSTRS Preretirement Planning Seminar.  These day-long meetings, conducted throughout the state, are designed to help members prepare for retirement.  Topics include NYSTRS benefits, financial planning, legal issues, taxes and Social Security.  Visit the Consultations page of our Web site for the seminar schedule and information on making a reservation.  You can also ask your employer or System delegate to arrange a group presentation on the retirement process. A NYSTRS representative will tailor a presentation that best suits the group's needs.

Review your contract so you'll know when to notify your district of your retirement.  Also check for eligibility to receive a payment for unused leave or a local retirement incentive. Your district may require you to inform the administration of your retirement by a specific date in order to qualify for certain payments, so it's important to be familiar with contract language that addresses these issues.

And if you haven't already done so, this is a good time to claim and purchase credit for prior New York State public employment or military service.  Service credit is used to determine your pension factor, a primary component of the formula used to calculate your retirement benefit.  Additional credit will increase the pension factor in almost every situation.  The formula used to calculate your benefit is:

Pension Factor (x Age Factor for Tiers 2, 3 and 4) x Final Average Salary = Maximum Annual Pension

Remember: Receiving additional service credit for prior New York State or military service does not change your date of membership or tier—unless it is the result of a membership reinstatement or transfer.  You cannot receive credit for employment with the federal government or a private school, except for charter schools participating in NYSTRS.

Also, one year of service credit is the maximum you can receive in a school year.  So teaching summer school either before or after a full year in the classroom won't earn you additional credit.  However, you can receive credit for part-time, partial year or substitute teaching if you worked the equivalent of at least 20 full days in a school year.

Schedule a personal or video consultation with a NYSTRS representative at a site near you.  Doing so allows you to meet with a staff member either in person or through interactive video.  You'll leave the consultation with printed estimates of your retirement benefits under various scenarios.  Our video consultations are live, face-to-face communications with a NYSTRS representative in Albany.  They are offered at more than 15 sites across the state.  Meanwhile, personal consultations are available at more than a dozen locations statewide.  For a list of consultation sites and scheduling information, refer to the Consultations page of our Web site.

After discussing the various NYSTRS benefit payment options at your consultation, thoroughly review the differences between them, particularly if you will need to provide income to a beneficiary. You won't need to select a payment method until you file for retirement, but planning ahead is important.  Weigh your benefit payment options against purchasing private insurance and review your choices with a certified financial advisor.  A summary of your choices can be found in the brochure Maximum or an Option: Your Choice at Retirement, available on our Web site or by calling the System Hotline at (800) 782-0289.

Continue to Winter.