June 27, 2022 — This legislative session PEF was instrumental in securing the first improvements to the Tier 5 and 6 pension plans since their inception more than a decade ago.
In coordination with the New York State AFL-CIO, NYSUT, CSEA and other unions, PEF’s elected leadership, the statewide Political Action Committee and rank-and-file members came together in solidarity to reduce the vesting time from 10 years to five years and remove overtime worked from 2020 to 2024 from the calculation of employee contributions in Tier 6.
“We have a long way to go to make the Tier 5 and 6 plans look like Tier 4,” said PEF President Wayne Spence. “To that end, we will continue to work to standardize the 3 percent contribution for all members; re-establish the 2 percent calculation at 20 years of service; lower the age and service requirements for retirement to age 62 or age 55 with 30 or more years of service, among many other improvements. We will continue to fight for those changes at the earliest possible opportunity, while also protecting the retirement system to ensure it can continue to cover all promised benefits now and into the future.”
While PEF works in the legislature, members are encouraged to take charge of their retirement planning by setting up an online account with the New York State and Local Employees Retirement System (NYSLERS).
“It is very important that members take a moment to set up their online account with the system so they can verify their years of service, current salary, date of membership, and more,” said Spence. “If there are discrepancies with what is reported to NYSLERS by the state or if you have outstanding service credit or veterans’ credit, the time to address those issues is now, not when you file your retirement papers.”
Members should visit https://web.osc.state.ny.us/retire/sign-in.php to set up and review their account today.