Five Years from Retirement?

Here’s Your Road Map to Success

Congratulations! With five years to go, you’ve entered a key planning phase of your retirement. NYSTRS offers a variety of tools to keep you informed, confident and ready for each step of this important process. Start taking steps today to make your retirement journey as smooth as possible.

Step 1: Know Your Timeline

Explore how your NYSTRS pension is calculated and when you might want to retire. While your benefit guarantees a monthly payment for life, the exact amount depends on factors including your tier, service credit, and final average salary. 

Through your secure MyNYSTRS account, view personalized benefit estimates and see how different salary changes, payment options and retirement dates could impact your pension. Knowing your earliest eligibility date and potential penalties for retiring early is essential.

Step 2: Use NYSTRS Resources

Understand your pension and make informed, educated decisions about retirement. We have resources across our website to help you plan – from educational videos, to publications for members nearing retirement, and the Your Source newsletter. Your MyNYSTRS account offers many helpful tools – view your personalized benefit information, use the pension estimator, and submit forms online. 

Step 3: Get Guidance from Our Team

We offer two retirement planning services that enable you to connect with our team: the Pension & Retirement Education Program (PREP) and one-on-one benefits consultations.

PREP seminars cover eligibility, benefit options, financial planning, and what to expect before and after retiring. PREP is especially valuable for mid- to late-career educators approaching retirement. Visit our PREP page for upcoming sessions and registration details.

A benefits consultation provides personalized guidance to members as they get even closer to retirement. Members age 53 or older who expect to retire within three years of the current school year can schedule a consultation. In a consultation, you’ll meet with a NYSTRS representative to discuss your benefits and review personalized benefit estimates. Log in to MyNYSTRS to schedule an appointment.

Consultations are also available to members with potential disability retirement eligibility.

Step 4: Keep Your Beneficiaries Current

Don’t forget to review your beneficiary designation, especially after a major life change such as marriage or the birth of a child. Use MyNYSTRS to review your beneficiary designation and make necessary changes. Or file a notarized Designation of Beneficiary For In-Service or Post-Retirement Paragraph 2 Death Benefit (NET-11.4) form.

Step 5: Plan Beyond Your Pension

While your NYSTRS benefit may be your largest source of income in retirement, many people need additional savings to retire comfortably. 

Review your Social Security eligibility as well as other personal investments, such as a 403(b) plans. Consider consulting a financial advisor to develop a comprehensive retirement income plan, ensure you’re on track to meet your goals and get an accurate overview of your expected income in retirement.

If you have questions or need assistance, get in touch with us. Your retirement journey is important to us and together we will help you get ready to enjoy the years ahead.