Other Ways To Update Your Mailing Address
If you dont have a Retirement Online account, there are other ways to update the mailing address we have on file for you.
- If your new address is not a PO box or international address, you can email your address change information using the secure contact form on our website. Be sure to complete all form fields and provide your old and new address.
- You can complete and submit a change of address form by mail . Mail your completed form to:
- NYSLRS
How To Adjust Previously Reported Data
Did you already submit your members data and need to make a correction to previously reported data? You can upload and submit an adjustment report or use a manual report to make your adjustments.
Watch this video on how to upload and submit your adjustment report file.
Watch this video on how to create and submit a manual adjustment report.
Your 2020 Vested Annual Disclosure Statement Is Now Available In Your Secure Mynycers Portal Please Log In To Access Your Electronic Vested Ads And Look For The View My Documents Link Read More
Attention Vested NYCERS Members!
Your 2020 Vested Annual Disclosure Statement is now available in your secure MyNYCERS portal. Please log in to access your electronic Vested ADS and look for the View My Documents link. If you have not registered for a MyNYCERS account, or you registered prior to May 2020, please register to view your Vested ADS.
Be sure to review the beneficiary information and, if you need to make changes, look for the Manage My Beneficiaries link in your MyNYCERS account.
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File For A Service Retirement Online
After signing in to your Retirement Online account, scroll down to the My Account Summary. On the right, under the heading I want to, click the green Apply for Retirement button.
From there, youll go through a series of screens where youll be able to:
- Choose a retirement date
- Get an estimate of your pension and the payment options available to you
- Select a payment option
- Sign up for direct deposit and
- Attach required documents, such as proof of date of birth.
A big advantage of filing for Retirement Online is that you do not have to get anything notarized.
After you click the Submit button, it is important that you do not close your browser until you receive a confirmation message that states your retirement application has been successfully submitted.
This help guide offers step-by-step instructions.
As A Result Nycers Has Returned To Its Standard Policies And Procedures As They Pertain To The Executive Orders Read More

Important Service Announcement
As of midnight on June 25, 2021, Governor Cuomo lifted the New York State State of Emergency, and cancelled the Executive Orders written under the State of Emergency. As a result, NYCERS has returned to its standard policies and procedures as they pertain to the Executive Orders noted below. Therefore, the following NYCERS Temporary Policies are no longer in effect:
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Overview Of New Yorks Retirement Systems
New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System These plans come in 20- and 25-year variations, with benefits increasing the longer youre part of the system. However, in both plans, you will be covered for death and injuries from the day you start. No matter which you choose, though, a maximum of 32 years can be credited toward your pension.
New York State and Local Employees Retirement System ERS plans come with similar benefits to its counterparts, albeit they can take longer to vest. If you become eligible for a different retirement plan within New Yorks system, you can transfer your service time from this to the other.
New York State Teachers Retirement System This system and its benefits are dedicated to most of the teachers in New York, aside from those working in New York City. However, those in the Big Apple have their own retirement system called the New York City Teachers Retirement System.
This benefit tier list applies to the three retirement systems above: the PFRS, ERS and NYSTRS. These dates apply to when you became a member to your respective program:
- Tier 1: Before 7/1/1973
- Tier 2: Between 7/1/1973 and 7/26/1976
- Tier 3: Between 7/27/1976 and 8/31/1983
- Tier 4: Between 9/1/1983 and 12/31/2009
- Tier 5: Between 1/1/2010 and 3/31/2012
- Tier 6: On or after 4/1/2012
Retirees: Register For Retirement Online Today
Retirement Online is generally available from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, seven days a week. In the future, we will be expanding its hours of operation. Well also be introducing additional features, including the ability to manage your direct deposit information online.
Its easy to create your own account. If you have any difficulty, our online guide takes you step by step through the process. Youll find it, and other helpful information, in the Tools & Tips section of the Retirement Online page.
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Payment Of A Service Credit
As a Tier 3, 4 , 5 or 6 member, you will usually be required to pay for service currently not credited to you. These payments are known as “arrears.” There are two kinds of arrears: mandatory and optional. Mandatory arrears are required for service you earned as a member but for which you made no contributions. Optional arrears are payments you choose to make to purchase credit for a period of previous or military service. Once you have made payment and have accrued two years of service credit as a member, you can receive that credit. Before you purchase optional arrears, though, you must pay for any outstanding mandatory arrears.
Nyslrss Defined Benefit Plans
NYSLRS administers more than 300 retirement plan combinations, but all are defined benefit plans and share certain features. NYSLRS plans:
- Provide a guaranteed lifetime retirement benefit
- Offer a pension that is based on final average earnings and years of service
- Provide a right to pension benefits with five years of service credit
- Build a cost-of-living adjustment into pensions to help offset the effect of inflation and
- Include disability retirement and death benefits.
To find out details about your own NYSLRS plan, check your retirement plan booklet. You can find a copy on the Publications page of our website. Read this blog post for help locating your plan book. Your plan is listed on your Retirement Online account page.
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What To Keep In Mind About Notifications
- Your security role determines the types of notifications you receive. For a listing of notifications sorted by security role, use our Retirement Online Notifications tool.
- If you have the payroll security role, you will receive notifications about employee deficiencies so you can correct them. Be sure to check the Notifications panel on your Account Homepage regularly for deficiency messages.
Alternate Option: Complete Your Transaction Online
This transaction may be completed online. Retirement Online gives you an easy and secure way to review your benefits and conduct transactions in real time instead of sending forms through the mail or calling the Retirement System.
You can do things like update your contact information, view or update your beneficiaries, apply for a loan, request service credit, manage your loan and service credit payments, estimate your pension benefit or apply for retirement.
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New York Retirement News
Theres a lot to know about being a NYSLRS member, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming learning about your retirement benefits when you join or when youre getting ready to retire. Thats why wed like to focus on ten things that are important to all our members.
Impact On Your Paycheck

Fortunately, adding a small amount to your retirement savings wont have a substantial impact on your paycheck. For example, if youre making $60,000 a year, 1 percent is only $600. Thats just $50 a month or, if you are paid every other week, about $23 per payday.
The impact on your take-home pay would be even less if you save in a tax-deferred plan because you wont have to pay income tax on those earnings until after you retire. The New York State Deferred Compensation Plans paycheck impact calculator can help you estimate how increased savings would affect your paycheck.
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For More Details Read Your Retirement Plan Booklet
Your service and disability retirement benefits and death benefits are based on your tier, plan, service credit, and other factors. For details about your available benefits, please read your retirement plan booklet, available on our Publications page, or you can call our Contact Center at 866-805-0990 if you have questions.
Where To Find More Information
ERS Tier 5 members can find more details about their benefits in the publications listed below:
NYSLRS was providing pension benefits to 496,628 retirees and beneficiaries as of March 31, 2021.
Nearly 79 percent of NYSLRS retirees and beneficiaries some 391,454 live right here in New York State, and they can be found in every county. The Capital District, for instance, is home to more than 63,000 retirees and beneficiaries, while more than 62,000 live on Long Island.
These New York retirees live in our communities, and their pension money flows right back into our neighborhoods. Retirees in New York pay local property and sales taxes, and their spending supports local businesses, stimulates the economy and generates thousands of jobs.
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New York Teaching Salaries And Benefits
One of the major perks of teaching in New York is the culturally rich and diverse environment. Teachers in New York have access to over 200 arts and cultural organizations, giving them wider access to materials and activities that help bring their daily lessons to life.
The benefits of teaching in New York extend past the classroom and into your personal life as well. As a teacher in New York, you’ll gain access to comprehensive benefits that allow you to position yourself for future financial security. By offering both retirement planning services and health insurance to teachers, New York teachers can shift focus to their students and feel more prepared for their futures.
Learn more about becoming a teacher. Contact schools offering teacher education/certification programs in New York.
Teacher Salaries in New York by Education
As teachers further their educations and gain experience in the field, they receive pay increases that reflect their dedication and hard work. Salaries may vary between school districts, but the following are some examples of the salaries you can expect in New York:
Experience |
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Review And Update Your Beneficiary Information
End of year processing: To ensure timely processing of new distributions or outgoing rollover requests the Plan strongly encourages you to submit your request no later than by the end of day 12/23/21. Your request must be reviewed and found to be in good order in 2021 to ensure it is processed in 2021. Please note: The Plan cannot pend requests intended for the 2022 tax year. Those requests must be submitted in 2022 to avoid unintended processing for the 2021 tax year.
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Advantages Of Defined Benefit Plans
With defined benefit plans, retirement assets are pooled, and the investment risk is shared. These plans are usually administered by professional managers, whose long-term investment strategies reduce the impact of market turmoil. With defined contribution plans, individual employees bear the brunt of investment risk, so a dip in the stock market can reduce their retirement income.
Defined benefit plans provide important advantages for state and local government employers. For one, offering these plans makes it easier to recruit and retain qualified employees, particularly police officers, fire fighters and teachers. Employers can also reduce the risk of employee turnover, which could help cut training costs and improve productivity.
Defined benefit plans also help support state and local economies because they provide a steady, reliable stream of retirement income for many retirees across New York and the nation.
As an Employees Retirement System Tier 6 member, your years of service are critical to your benefits. As time goes by, and you earn more service credit, youll reach a number of career milestones. These milestones are points where you become eligible for certain benefits or your existing benefits improve. Understanding these milestones will help you better plan your career and retirement.
In this plan, you reach your first milestone on your first day of membership. This milestone covers you for certain job-related death and disability benefits.
Filing For Service Retirement By Mail
You can still print an Application for Service Retirement and pension payment option election form and mail them to NYSLRS. If you mail the application, we recommend certified mail, return receipt requested. When we receive the form, the postmark date will serve as the filing date.
If you use regular mail, the filing date is the date we receive it. However, if you were to die after your application is mailed, but before we receive it, a legible postmark will serve as a filing date.
If you plan to mail your application, you may want to read our blog post, Your Checklist to Apply for Retirement.
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What Is This Form For
To add or update existing beneficiaries for your retirement payouts.
New NYS Employees’ Retirement System members can designate a beneficiary to receive your ordinary death or post-retirement death benefit by completing this form. Existing members can use this form to change beneficiaries on file. If no beneficiary is selected, your death benefit will go to your estate.
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Use this form to add or update beneficiaries for retirement payouts.
Service From A Previous Membership

If you previously were a member of NYSLRS, or another public retirement system in New York State, your service may be recredited and your date of membership and tier restored. NYSLRS will initiate reinstatement to tier 3, 4, or 5 or an earlier date within tier 6 by sending you information about your eligibility and giving you the opportunity to purchase credit for your withdrawn service. If your previous tier 3, 4 or 5 membership was with another retirement system, please write to NYSLRS Member & Employer Services Bureau. For reinstatement to tier 1 or tier 2, you must send NYSLRS a completed Application to Reinstate a Former Tier 1 or 2 Membership . You can get this form from either NYSLRS or HR Services & Transitions Center.
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How To Manage And Search Notifications
When working in Retirement Online, you may receive notifications that tell you important information or require you to take action .
The notifications you receive depend on your security role. Our Retirement Online Notifications tool has a list of descriptions for each notification you can receive. You can also see which notifications are informational or actionable.
Watch this video on how to manage your notifications in Retirement Online.
New York State And Local Retirement System Data Notes
The New York State Employees Retirement System and New York State Police and Fire Retirement System data, as provided by the state comptroller’s office, includes names, gross benefit rates , retirement dates and last known employers when available for every individual who collected benefits.
NYSLRS Pension data reflects information that is current as of March 31 for the years 2010 through 2017.
Other Notes:
The state comptroller’s office provided the 2011-2012 and 2013-14 data as a single monthly maximum benefit amount. This data was multiplied by 12 to get the approximate annual benefit. This data does not account for those eligible to receive a cost of living adjustment in September.
NYSLRS data reflects information that is current as of a particular point in time in the NYSLRS database:
- FY2017 data reflects information current in the NYSLRS database on 3/31/17.
- FY2016 data reflects information current in the NYSLRS database on 3/31/16.
- FY2015 data reflects information current in the NYSLRS database on 3/31/15.
- FY2014 data reflects information current in the NYSLRS database on 5/5/14.
- FY2013 data reflects information current in the NYSLRS database on 4/24/13.
- FY2012 data reflects information retrieved from the NYSLRS 2012 actuarial file.
- FY2011 data reflects information retrieved from the NYSLRS 2011 actuarial file.
- FY2010 data reflects information current in the NYSLRS database on 4/13/10.
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