What's Tier 6?

The New York State Teachers' Retirement System and the New York State and Local Retirement System, which represents most School-Related Professionals, has six retirement tiers. Your tier membership is based on your hiring date. If you were hired on or after April 1, 2012, you're in Tier 6.

What's Tier 6?

What's this about?

Since 2010, newly created pension tiers (Tier 5 and Tier 6) have been enacted that reduce the retirement benefits for newly hired public employees, including public school teachers and School-Related Professionals.

Tier 6 requires public employees to work until age 63, up to 40 years, in order to retire without penalty. Public employees in Tier 6 can no longer retiree at age 55 with 30 years of service without suffering from significant penalties that reduce their overall pension.

Tier 6 was imposed on our members by Gov. Cuomo in 2012, one of his many attacks on our members, public education, and public employees in general.

While still a defined benefit pension that our members cannot outlive, how much a member will receive in retirement, how long they are required to work for this lesser amount, and how much they must pay for it is far different than their Tier 4 and Tier 5 co-workers. 

Thirty years is a career: public employees should be able to retire with a secure retirement after 30 years of service, without penalty.

What is NYSUT doing about this?

Fix Tier 6 campaign: NYSUT is launching a long-term advocacy campaign to improve retirement benefits for public employees under Tier 6. It took us over a decade to reform Tier 4, we’re going to keep fighting until we reform Tier 6 and restore a secure retirement for all public employees in New York.

Fight for tier equity: We did it once and we can do it again!  In the year 2000, after many years of lobbying the state, NYSUT and the other public employee unions won the battle for tier equity for Tier 4 members. Tier 4 members saw their employee contributions reduced to zero after 10 years of service and service credit calculations were adjusted benefiting employees across all public pension systems.  

We’re already seeing progress: Last year, the first year under Gov. Hochul, we won the first battle in this fight.  The number of years required to vest in the pension system for Tier 6 members was reduced from 10 year to five years — the same amount required for Tier 4. More than 85,000 Tier 6 members are now vested in the retirement system thanks to NYSUT’s advocacy.

This is a long-term fight: We will continue this fight until the benefits for our Tier 6 members match the benefits for our Tier 4 members.  

WHY WE NEED TO FIX TIER 6

What We've Already Accomplished

Thanks to NYSUT advocacy, we’ve already won some pension improvements.

2000

After a decade-long campaign, we ended Tier 4 contributions after 10 years and reduced Tier 4 early retirement penalties.

Spring 2022

Thanks to NYSUT advocacy, member vesting drops from 10 to five years, guaranteeing a pension benefit for 85,000 Tier 6 members.

June 2023

The NYSUT Member Organizing Institute trains member activists about NYSUT’s Fix Tier 6 campaign.

Summer 2023

Scores of NYSUT MOI activists canvass door-to-door statewide, discussing the need for pension equity with fellow members.

Fall 2023

NYSUT’s legislative team testifies before the NYS Senate about the need to Fix Tier 6 to boost retention and recruitment.

Spring 2024

The biggest pension reform win in 20 years! Thanks to NYSUT advocacy, the Final Average Salary calculation drops from five to three years for Tier 6 members!

2024 Win - Final Average Salary improvement

What happened?

Thanks to your activism we won the biggest win for pension reform in 20 years in the recent budget agreement — lowering the Final Average Salary calculation from five to three years for Tier 6 members!

What does this mean?

Now, an average of Tier 6 members’ last three salary years, instead of their last five salary years, will determine their lifetime pension payments. This is a big deal because educators usually earn more later in their careers.

Why does this matter?

The new calculation means Tier 6 members will receive a bigger pension check, every month, for life. Individual situations will vary, but this works out to around $100,000 more in lifetime retirement earnings! It also gives Tier 6 members parity with Tiers 4 and 5 members.

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