March 2026 Reporting Tips

Members Must Have Bona Fide Termination from NYS Public Service to Retire

As highlighted in the recently issued Administrative Bulletin 2026-2, retirees must stop all paid service with their employer with a bona fide termination prior to their date of retirement. Additionally, the member and employer must have no prearranged agreement to return to service after that date.

Where the employer and member expect the member will return to employment after their date of retirement, the member risks their termination not constituting a bona fide termination. Bona fide termination is defined as a member stopping paid service with their employer prior to their date of retirement. In addition, a member and employer must have no prearranged agreement to return the member to service after their date of retirement.

If there is no bona fide termination, the service retirement will be voided. Any pension payments made in error due to an invalid retirement will be recovered by the Retirement System.

Employers play a key role in ensuring compliance. Please verify effective resignation dates and carefully review contract timelines to help members avoid complications in their retirement processing.

Register for Our April 21 Webinar on Tier 6 Member Contributions

NYSTRS invites you to our next Employer Reporting Webinar on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. This live 30-minute session, titled “All About Tier 6 Member Contributions,” will cover:

How the Tier 6 contribution rate is calculated.
When the contribution rate is updated.
How to find more information in the Employer Secure Area (ESA).

The 2026 Employer Reporting Webinar schedule is available on the Employer Resources page.

NYSTRS also offers customized training webinars tailored to your team’s needs. These sessions provide step-by-step guidance on the reporting process and offer time for questions. If your office has new staff who require training on our reporting requirements – or if current staff need a refresher, contact the Employer Training & Outreach unit at [email protected] to schedule a training session.

March 31 Deadline: Report Earnings After Retirement

Employers must still report earnings after retirement to NYSTRS, even with the temporary suspension of earnings limits for some retirees.

If these earnings are not included in monthly reports, they must be updated in the Employer Secure Area (ESA) no later than March 31, 2026 for all 2025 calendar year earnings.

For more information, see Section 20: Earnings After Retirement of NYSTRS’ Employer Manual.

Special Delegate Election Now Underway

A special delegate election is currently underway to fill open delegate and alternate seats. Employers with open delegate slots conduct these elections locally, helping ensure members are represented and that NYSTRS members continue to be supported with local points of contact.

Delegates, elected by peers, serve two key roles: to elect a member to the Retirement Board at the Annual Delegates Meeting, and to serve as a liaison between NYSTRS and the members in their district.

The special election period is open March 1 through Oct. 1, 2026. Delegates and alternates reported during the special election will serve until the current term ends on July 31, 2027.

The Chief School Administrator (CSA) or their designee is responsible for establishing election procedures, conducting the election, and reporting results to NYSTRS.

To determine whether your district has vacancies, review the 2025-2027 Delegates list, which shows the number of delegates allotted to each district, current district representatives, and any open delegate/alternate slots. If there is only one candidate for a position, no formal vote is required.

Election results must be reported to NYSTRS via the Employer Secure Area (ESA) by Oct. 6, 2026. Newly elected delegates and alternates begin serving as soon as election results are reported.

More than 300 districts currently have eligible vacancies. Only vacancies that are open in both the delegate and corresponding alternate seat may be filled during the special election, though a delegate is not required to run with an alternate.

Additional details, including reporting instructions, are available on the Employers/Delegate Election & Annual Meeting page and in Section 6 of the Employer Manual.