Annual Delegates Meeting

Annual meetings feature educational sessions and a teacher Board member election.

Contact Us

518-447-2900, ext. 4071
[email protected]

2024 Delegates Meeting

Registration is open for the 2024 Annual Delegates Meeting, to be held Sunday, Nov. 3 to Monday, Nov. 4 at the Saratoga Springs City Center.

This year’s meeting will include our Delegate-Board/Staff Discussion, the return of the popular “Retirement Quest!” game show, and the election of two active teacher Board members. Read the 2024 Annual Delegates Meeting agenda for the full schedule.

Attend the Delegates Meeting

  • Parking information and hotel details are available now.
  • Advance registration is required. Register using the online registration form. When you register, you’ll need to provide us with certain information:
    • Your attendee type: delegate (including voting alternates), alternate or visitor
    • Any special accommodations for accessibility, etc., that you may need
    • Whether you plan to attend in person or virtually (see below for details on attending virtually)
    • Delegates and alternates must register with their school email address.

Submit Your Questions for the Delegate-Board/Staff Discussion

Send your questions for the Delegate-Board/Staff Discussion to us at [email protected]. While we will accept questions during the session, we encourage you to submit your question in advance.

Please note: The questions for the Board discussion are general in nature. If you have a question about your unique situation or membership, send it to us via secure message from your MyNYSTRS account.
 

Active Teacher Board Member Election 

Delegates attending the 2024 Annual Delegates Meeting will elect two active teachers to NYSTRS’ Board of Trustees. Eric J. Iberger, a teacher in the Bayport-Blue Point Union Free School District, is the incumbent up for reelection to serve the 2025-2028 term. Donald A. Little III, a teacher in the Syracuse City School District, is up for election to fulfill the remainder of the 2024-2027 term.

State law requires an election to occur even if the incumbents are unopposed. Delegates will vote to adopt the Rules of Procedure for the teacher trustee election during the election on Monday, Nov. 4. Delegates must be present to participate in the voice vote.

An alternate can only vote in the teacher Board member election if their delegate is unable to attend and their employer notifies NYSTRS that the alternate is attending and voting in the delegate's place. Employers must notify us of this by 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1. An alternate will not be able to vote in the election unless notification is received by that deadline. 

Unsure if you're a Delegate or an Alternate? Confirm your position with the latest Delegates/Alternates list.

Join Virtually

While we hope to see you in person, we are planning this as a hybrid event. If necessary, you will be able to watch all presentations and the Board member election live online. Sessions will be streamed via links available on the Delegates/Annual Delegates Meeting page of nystrs.org each day of the meeting.

  • We appreciate you serving as a delegate and being a liaison with NYSTRS members in your district. We routinely email you pertinent information to assist you in your role as a delegate. We also send you educational information we hope you share with your colleagues to keep them informed about NYSTRS.

    Our primary means of reaching you is your school email address. Look for emails from us with the sender name "Convention Delegate" and [email protected] address. We send Delegates Meeting information, Delegate News, and monthly NYSTRS News emails to educate you on the System and to provide retirement planning information. If you do not receive our emails, check your spam folder or contact your IT department and ask them to whitelist emails from [email protected].

  • For information on how to treat Annual Delegates Meeting attendance, salary and expense issues, refer to:

  • NYSTRS’ 2023 Delegates Meeting was held Nov. 5-6 at the Saratoga Springs City Center. Delegates attending the meeting re-elected Baldwinsville teacher Elizabeth A. Chetney to NYSTRS’ Board of Trustees. Read more about Chetney’s re-election in our headline “Delegates Re-Elect Chetney to NYSTRS Board.”

    More than 600 delegates from across the state participated in the meeting, which featured educational presentations about NYSTRS' benefits and the strength and stability of the pension system.

    Following are videos and slides from the presentations and sessions conducted at the Delegates Meeting.

    The Role of the Delegate: As a delegate, you have two important functions: elect a teacher member to NYSTRS’ Board and serve as a System ambassador to your peers. Learn about our various resources to keep you and your fellow teachers informed about your benefits and to plan for retirement. (Watch The Role of the Delegate video)

    Social Security Information: What do you need to know? We review key information, including benefit eligibility, calculations, taxes, earnings limits and cost-of-living adjustments. (Watch Social Security Information Video | Download presentation slides)

    Tier 6 Overview: Learn key information about Tier 6, including member contributions and eligibility for benefits. (Watch Tier 6 Overview video | Download presentation slides)

    Legal Update: Review of POAs, DROs and Trusts: Learn about important legal documents, including Power of Attorney (POA), Domestic Relations Orders (DRO) and trusts. (Watch Legal Update: Review of POAs, DROs and Trusts Video | Download presentation slides)

    Play “Retirement Quest” with Host Mr. Max Benefit: We invited delegates to the stage to play our new game show “Retirement Quest” hosted by Mr. Max Benefit. Two teams of delegates navigated their way through the career stages to make it to Retirement. Contestants answered questions about a member’s early-, mid- and late-career stage to win Retirement Quest! A panel of NYSTRS’ Expert Guides provided insight on the answers and contestants received prizes! (Watch Play “Retirement Quest” with Host Mr. Max Benefit Video)

    The Strength and Stability of the System: Learn about NYSTRS’ funding and investment philosophies and how they lead to long-term success, strength and stability. We provided an overview of the health of the Retirement System and the thoughtful approach to managing the System’s assets. (Watch The Strength and Stability of the System Video | Download presentation slides)

    NYSTRS Voices: Board Member Edition: We welcomed longtime NYSTRS trustees Dr. Phyllis S. Harrington and Nicholas Smirensky to the stage to discuss their roles on the Board. With a combined nearly 30 years serving NYSTRS members, they shared their experiences ensuring the System fulfills its mission to provide retirement security and be the model for pension fund excellence and exceptional customer service. (Watch NYSTRS Voices: Board Member Edition Video)

    Delegate-Board/Staff Discussion (Watch Delegate-Board/Staff Discussion Video)

    Election of Teacher Board Member (Watch Election of Teacher Board Member Video)

Benefits Presentations

NYSTRS will visit your school to give a tailored presentation to members. Call 800-348-7298, ext. 4763 to learn more.