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Active Members
Retirement Incentive Information
NYSTRS is currently administering two retirement incentives: Chapters 45 and 105 of the Laws of 2010. If you are eligible for both the Part A retirement incentive and a 55/25 retirement incentive, you will only receive that retirement incentive which provides the better benefit, not both.
Chapter 45
Chapter 45, the 55/25 retirement incentive for educators represented by NYSUT, was signed into law April 14, 2010. The incentive grants an unreduced retirement benefit to eligible Tier 2, 3 and 4 members who are at least age 55 with a minimum of 25 years of service credit. Members who meet this criteria must also hold a position represented by a recognized collective bargaining unit affiliated with NYSUT, and must have been in continuous active service since Feb. 1, 2010.
A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Chapter 45 was brought against Governor Paterson, NYSLERS and NYSTRS. The New York State Supreme Court has issued a decision upholding Chapter 45 as constitutional. The System will continue to implement Chapter 45 as written.
Subject to the paragraph below, any otherwise eligible member who has attained age 55 and has at least 25 years of service credit and retires during the Chapter 45 open period will receive, upon completion of final processing (see Benefit Payment Information below), an unreduced benefit, provided the member was in a position represented by a recognized, NYSUT-affiliated collective bargaining unit. (For additional eligibility requirements, see the Chapter 45 Fact Sheet.)
Plaintiffs have filed a notice of appeal. Argument of the appeal is scheduled for mid-November. The payment of the unreduced retirement benefit to eligible members who retired pursuant to Chapter 45 will be subject to the final outcome of any appellate process. Once the case has been decided, we will provide information as to whether or not there is an impact on members who retire under Chapter 45. (Updated 8/24/2010)
Members considering retirement under Chapter 45 may wish to consult with their collective bargaining representative and/or attorney.
Read the court’s decision in PDF format.
Chapter 105
Chapter 105, signed into law June 2, 2010, provides NYSTRS participating employers with the option to offer Part A or Part B, or both parts. School districts may also elect not to offer either part of the incentive.
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Part A provides one-twelfth of a year of additional service credit for every year of credited service, to a maximum of three years of additional credit. To be eligible, members must waive any local retirement incentive and be age 50 or older with 10 or more years of service, or age 55 with five or more years of service.
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Part B allows Tier 2, 3 and 4 members who are at least age 55 or older with a minimum of 25 but less than 30 years of service credit to retire without an age reduction.
Benefit Payment Information
Those retiring under an incentive will receive benefit payments on their first eligible payroll, but these initial payments will not include any additional incentive-based payments until the retirement process is fully complete. Typically, this process takes on average nine to 12 months from the date of retirement. We must verify eligibility and produce a final calculation before the incentive will be reflected in the benefit payments. We will retroactively pay any money owed, above any payments received, back to the date of retirement.
Important Note: Those retiring under Chapter 105 – Part A earlier than age 55 will not receive any benefit payments until their eligibility is verified because without the incentive they would not be eligible to retire until they turned 55.
Incentive Resources
