What New Members Need to Know About NYSTRS

If you are new to teaching, welcome! We’re glad you decided to help mold young minds.

One of the benefits of teaching in New York is membership in this retirement system. You’ve joined one of the best-funded and most-secure pension systems in the nation.

You may be thinking, “Retirement is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment!” While we understand, consider these five key reasons to care about your golden years early in your career:

1. Save now, collect later. In today’s money and considering current mortality rates, you’d need to save at least $1 million for a pension that provides you with a secure retirement. With student loans, mortgages, car payments and other expenses staring you in the face, it’s unlikely you’d be able to save that much on your own. As a NYSTRS member, you contribute 3% to 6% of your salary while you work (depending on your pay scale) and we do the accumulating for you. Learn more about the funding process and the importance of protecting the current plan design by reading the NYSTRS publications Learning About NYSTRS and Active Members' Handbook, both of which are found in the Library at NYSTRS.org.
    
2. You can borrow against your contributions while you are working. That’s not to say you should, because doing so can have severe tax consequences. However, simply knowing this option exists in the event of an emergency provides peace of mind. There are milestones you need to reach before you can apply for a loan, and there are limits as to how much and how often you can borrow. See the publication Borrowing From Your NYSTRS Contributions and talk to a System representative before considering a loan.
    
3. It's death and disability coverage without the premiums. Once eligible, you will have disability and death benefit coverage at no additional cost to you. As a result, you may decide it is not necessary to buy additional private insurance — or at least purchase less of it. That’s a potential cost savings to you and another way a NYSTRS pension provides peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
    
4. If you previously worked in the public sector, you may already have service credit you can claim. Service credit is earned by working in New York State public service. The more credit you have, the sooner you can potentially retire and the larger your benefit will be when you do. Even if you just joined NYSTRS, you may be able to purchase prior service earned through previous state employment. You may also be able to claim military service. In some cases you may be able to reinstate to an earlier date of membership, meaning you could be eligible for better benefits under a different tier. See the publication You Deserve the Credit for more information.
    
5. Your NYSTRS benefit will be a big piece of your retirement income. However, you still need to save on your own. How do you determine what to put aside if you don’t know what to expect from your NYSTRS benefit? No matter your age, the time to plan is now.

What Now?

The two most important tasks for ALL members are to (1) activate your MyNYSTRS account at NYSTRS.org and (2) review — each and every year — the Benefit Profile you will receive from us.

MyNYSTRS is a secure, members-only area on our website where, once you earn salary and accumulate service, you will find all your personal data relative to your NYSTRS membership. Once you reach appropriate service milestones, you can also use this area to claim prior service, borrow against your contributions, calculate your future retirement benefit and much more.

Following your first year of employment, your Benefit Profile will be one item you’ll find in MyNYSTRS. Distributed annually in the fall, the Profile is a summary of your membership status. As you meet eligibility requirements, the Profile will provide estimates of your future benefits. Review the statement carefully; it is your opportunity to verify the accuracy of salary and service information reported to us by your employer. Your eligibility for current and future benefits, as well as the calculation of those benefits, is dependent upon this information.

With a MyNYSTRS account, you can choose to receive your Profile electronically. In addition to reducing your U.S. mail intake, selecting the electronic version of this important multi-page retirement planning document is the environmentally friendly option.

Take a Look

You should have received the publication Your First Look at NYSTRS with your membership letter from NYSTRS. If it doesn’t sound familiar, you can find it in our online Library under active member publications. Here you’ll find an explanation of the member contribution structure, as well as key service milestones.

Also consider asking your NYSTRS delegate or union representative to schedule a new member orientation program in your district. It runs less than an hour and can easily be squeezed into a superintendent day or after school. Call (800) 348-7298, Ext. 4763 to schedule a session.

If you ever have questions about your NYSTRS membership and you can’t find the answers online, call us at the number above to speak with a System representative.