Early Career: 0-9 Years of Service

Your early career is all about laying the foundation for retirement security. When you first join NYSTRS, take time to learn about your membership and benefits. These first few steps help make sure your NYSTRS membership starts off on the right track. 

Make It Official

• Submit an Application for Membership (NET-2) to provide us with your contact information and beneficiary designation. You can get one from your employer or on the Forms page.

Create and Use Your MyNYSTRS Account

• Use MyNYSTRS to review your retirement information, submit forms, and send secure messages to NYSTRS throughout your career.
• E-subscribe to publications such as Your Source and the annual Benefit Profile.

Understand Service Credit

• After two years of service, you're eligible to claim prior service. We recommend pursuing that credit well before retirement because it can take months to fully process the claim. The sooner you purchase prior service, the less it will cost. Learn more about claiming prior service in the Active Members’ Handbook.
• We’ll send a service credit summary each year in your annual Benefit Profile. Make sure it’s accurate and notify your employer of any issues so they can send us corrections. 
• Learn about service credit and service milestones, such as when you’ll become vested and when you can retire.  

Learn How a Defined Benefit Pension Works

• Start with the Active Members’ Handbook and our Pension Education Toolkit. 
• The Active Members/New Members page on our website has additional resources to help you understand how your NYSTRS pension will provide you with financial security in retirement.

Mid-Career: 10-20 Years of Service

You’re on the way. As you continue to build your service credit, stay on track for retirement. Understand your benefit, keep up with your milestones and you'll be ready to retire when the time comes.

Review Your Benefit Profile Each Year

• This comprehensive personalized statement provides an overview of where your retirement stands based on your service, earnings and other key factors. You can find your Profile in MyNYSTRS. Review it each year and report any issues to your employer. 

Build Retirement Knowledge

• Attend a Pension & Retirement Education Program (PREP) seminar. This course helps you understand your NYSTRS benefits and offers tips for retirement planning. 
• Use the pension estimator in MyNYSTRS to see how age, service credit, and salary work together to determine your pension benefit.

Know Key Service Milestones

• Your service credit accumulates as you work. Understand how service milestones impact your eligibility for benefits. See the Active Members/Service Credit & Milestones page and read the Active Members’ Handbook for details. 
• If you haven’t already claimed credit for prior service, do so now. Purchasing prior service early reduces the amount of interest due and avoids delays in processing at retirement. Learn more about claiming prior service in the Active Members’ Handbook.
• Have questions you need answered? Send us a secure message about your retirement in MyNYSTRS.

Late Career: 20+ Years of Service

Almost there! Put your Benefit Profile and our online tools to work for you. If you are retiring close to a key service milestone, such as 30 years of service for a Tier 4 member, we advise working beyond the date you expect to reach that milestone. If you miscalculated or included in your calculations work that was not actually creditable, your benefit could be negatively impacted – for life. Contact us for personalized guidance before filing for retirement. 

Review Your Records

• Continue to review your Benefit Profile every year to make sure your earnings information and service credit are accurate – both are key factors in your retirement benefit calculation. You want to resolve discrepancies in service credit well before your planned retirement date.
• Keep your contact information and beneficiaries up to date in MyNYSTRS. Staying up to date will make for a smoother retirement. 

Understand How Timing Affects Your Benefit 

• If you’re retiring near a key service milestone, be safe and work beyond the date you believe you will reach it.
• Use the MyNYSTRS pension estimator to project future benefits based on your salary and date of retirement. This online estimator uses your most-recent earnings and service credit information to estimate your pension. You can run the numbers using various dates of retirement and earnings projections. Estimates can be run for the Maximum benefit payment or an option that would provide beneficiary protection. Log in to MyNYSTRS and visit the My Tools/Pension Estimator page.
• Consult the Ready to Retire page of our website. It’s your one-stop shop for NYSTRS retirement info. 

Prepare for Your Final Year

• Learn about benefit payment options. Selecting the benefit payment best for you is the most important decision you will make during the retirement process. Review our brochure Maximum or an Option: Choosing a Benefit Payment Right for You and watch our two-part video “Your NYSTRS Benefit Payment – Making the Choice That’s Right for You” for details on the choices available.
• If you’re 53 or older and expect to retire within three years of the current school year, schedule a benefits consultation.
• Attend a PREP seminar if you haven’t attended one already.  

Ready to Retire

Congratulations! The finish line is in sight. As you enter the final stretch, you'll need to make informed decisions about your retirement. Get prepared. Learn about your payment options, learn how to file and understand what comes next.

Finalize Your Retirement Decision

• Confirm your estimated benefit using MyNYSTRS or your Benefit Profile.
• Decide how your monthly benefit will be paid: the Maximum benefit or an option to provide a payment to a beneficiary.  To start, review Maximum or an Option: Choosing a Benefit Payment Right for You and watch our two-part video “Your NYSTRS Benefit Payment – Making the Choice That’s Right for You” for details on the choices available.
• Visit our Ready to Retire page for a full list of resources before you submit your Application for Retirement. 
• Review the Retirement Checklist. 

Apply for Retirement

• Remember: resigning from your employer does not automatically trigger retirement benefit payments. You must apply for retirement with NYSTRS to begin receiving benefit payments.
• File for retirement up to 90 days before your desired retirement date. The easiest way to file your application, provided you are at least age 55, is online through your MyNYSTRS account. Log in to your account and navigate to My Retirement/Application for Retirement. You can save and store data as you go, so you don’t need to complete the application in one sitting. When you return, you’ll see which sections are complete and which you still need to finish. You’ll also have the ability to modify previously completed sections. Or you can complete an Application for Retirement (RET-54), available on the Forms page. 
• Timing matters. File early enough to avoid delays in your first benefit payment.  

After You File

• Track your application and benefit payments in MyNYSTRS.
• Know the deadlines for withdrawing your application or changing your benefit option. You can find these deadlines in the Active Members’ Handbook.
• Understand the rules for returning to New York state public employment. Strict rules determine whether and how you may work in retirement while receiving a NYSTRS pension, and earnings limits may apply.