Pension & Retirement Education Program

PREP sessions are designed to help members of all ages prepare for retirement.

Contact Us

800-348-7298, ext. 6180
[email protected]

Many retirees wish they began focusing on financial and retirement planning much earlier in their lives. Don’t let that happen to you! No matter how far along you are in your career, careful financial and retirement planning are critical. That’s why our Pension & Retirement Education Program (PREP) seminar is so valuable.

The PREP seminar will help you understand your NYSTRS benefits while also providing essential retirement-planning tips. This information will help you develop a plan to achieve your retirement goals and dreams.

Topics covered during this half-day seminar include:

  • NYSTRS Benefits: Your pension, disability coverage, loans, vesting and death benefits.
  • Financial Planning: Saving early, catching up, withdrawals and financial advisors.
  • Social Security: Benefits, eligibility rules, when to collect and earning limits.
  • Estate Planning: Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies and living wills.
  • The Retirement Process: Retirement options, "resigning" vs. "retiring," choosing a retirement date, retirement checklist, monthly payments, taxes and earnings limitations on NYS public employment.

Seminars are held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with registration beginning at 8 a.m. There is no fee to attend and your spouse/companion is welcome to attend, but you must make a reservation in advance. (Note: These seminars are not designed for individual retirement counseling.)

PREP seminars often fill up, so book early. Can't attend a seminar now? We begin taking reservations for our three PREP schedules during the year in: mid-September (fall schedule); mid-December (winter/spring schedule); and, mid-May (summer schedule).

There are no prep seminars scheduled at this time

  • There are two ways to make a reservation:

    1. Online using your MyNYSTRS account. After logging into your account, visit the Tools/Schedule a Consultation or PREP page.
    2. By calling NYSTRS at 800-348-7298, ext. 6180.

    When calling for a reservation you must provide your EmplID or Social Security number, email address and home phone number (and the same information for your spouse/companion if they are a member and will attend too).

    Please bring your latest Benefit Profile with you to the seminar. For the most up-to-date estimate of your retirement benefits, use our online MyNYSTRS Pension Estimator. This tool allows you to create estimates using various retirement dates.

    If you make a reservation but cannot attend, please call the number above to cancel (or cancel using your MyNYSTRS account) so that we can offer this reservation to another member.

Your Benefit Profile

Your most important retirement-planning tool. Watch our Benefit Profile Tutorial.