Union members from NYSUT and other public-sector unions filled MVP Arena in Albany, standing together to demand meaningful Tier 6 reforms and retirement equity for New York’s public workers. Photo Credit: El-Wise Noisette.

Caption: 15,000 unionists gathered at the MVP Arena in Albany for the Statewide Rally to Fix Tier 6 on March 8. Photo Credit: El-Wise Noisette.

Fix Tier 6 efforts yield significant reforms in state budget

By Molly Belmont,
NYSUT Communications

This year’s state budget includes welcome news for all Fix Tier 6 advocates: Thanks to member solidarity, we secured meaningful pension reforms for Tier 6 members in multiple retirement systems.

According to budget details released Friday, Tier 6 updates vary by member group. For Tier 6 members in NYSTRS and NYCTRS, a group that includes most teachers and teaching assistants, the retirement age will be reduced by five years, from 63 to 58, for members with 30 years of service, without penalties.

For Tier 6 members in NYSERS, NYCERS and NYCBERS — which doesn’t include teachers but covers many school-related professionals, support staff and other workers — contribution rates will be reduced across most salary bands. According to the new contribution bands, new NYSERS/NYCERS/NYCBERS members who earn $75,000 or less will pay 3 percent; $75,000 to $100,000, 4 percent; $100,000-$125,000, 5.25 percent, and the rate will be 5.75 percent for members who earn $125,000 or more.

"This Tier 6 agreement is proof that when workers organize and stay united, change is possible. This is a victory for public workers across New York,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person. “Because members across New York refused to give up, we secured meaningful progress for public workers — including lowering the retirement age from 63 to 58 after 30 years of service for members in the NYS and NYC Teachers’ Retirement Systems and reducing contribution rates for many other public employees.”

See What We've Accomplished

For members in the SUNY and CUNY Optional Retirement Program, contribution bands will be adjusted to align with changes in the other retirement systems, and members will receive an additional 1 percent state contribution to their ORP accounts.

For Tier 6 members eligible for overtime, the overtime cap used in final average salary calculations will increase from $22,500 plus CPI to $30,000 plus CPI.

The new retirement age notches the most significant Tier 6 rollback since the system was imposed in 2012 and is the latest in a list of successive improvements driven by labor activism. Whether it was rallies, calls, canvassing, lobby days, or a historic labor event at Albany’s MVP Arena, our members turned up and turned out — and delivered decisive wins.

“This victory belongs to every member who spoke out, rallied, lobbied, and kept the pressure on. We are taking an important step toward building a fairer future for the next generation of public workers. And we’re going to keep fighting,” Person said.

This marks the latest in a string of hard-won victories that are transforming the retirement system; in Spring 2022, thanks to union advocacy, member vesting dropped from 10 to five years, and in Spring of 2024, the FAS calculation was lowered from five to three years for Tier 6 members.

Bethany Hamilton, a member of the Tri-Valley Teachers Association, has been part of this fight since the beginning. It was Hamilton’s local that introduced the resolution to Fix Tier 6 at the RA in 2023, she said. When she heard the news that Tier 6 members are now getting half a decade of their retirement back, she was grateful.

Bethany Hamilton Tri Valley TA

“I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief. It feels like, ‘Okay, now we can do this. There's some light at the end of the tunnel,’” Hamilton said. “It's also validating. They're acknowledging the work that we're putting into the system and the commitment we’ve made, and that acknowledgement is important and powerful.”

Hamilton, who was also part of the Committee of 100 delegation that went to the Capitol in 2024 and rallied on the Million Dollar Staircase, said the latest victory is about solidarity and persistence.

“This fight has brought people together from a spectrum of political stances, a spectrum of professions. People have come together from all over the state to fight for this, and I think that’s what’s given it its momentum and its power,” Hamilton said.

John Hines, president of the Cornwall Central TA was celebrating when he heard the news. “Best birthday present ever,” he said.

John Hines Fix Tier 6 mixer

Hines and 10 other Orange County locals held the first-ever Fix Tier 6 Mixer back in October 2023. “We took the event as an opportunity to educate everybody because I don't think people realized how Draconian Tier 6 actually was,” Hines said. When Hines, a math teacher, ran the numbers for people and pointed out the clear discrepancies between the tiers, his colleagues were floored. “I think people’s eyes were really opened, and it started there.”

Fast forward almost three years, with the ink still drying on the latest Fix Tier 6 victory, Hines said he is elated by what he and his fellow NYSUT members have been able to accomplish so far in this movement.

“I think this is a clear demonstration of the power of our union and what labor can accomplish when we stand together,” Hines said. “There’s still room to grow, but we’re going to keep chipping away at this. We just have to stick together and keep the pressure on.”

Christopher Kazim, president of the Port Chester TA, led the first “March on the 6th" to galvanize his members and drive attention to the problem. The march was so successful that it became a recurring event, taking place on the sixth of every month, in locations across the state.

“This shows that when members come together — whether in Port Chester, or around New York state, or in Albany when we had 15,000 members come together about the same issue — there is strength in our unity, and we can push for positive change,” said Kazim. “Change can happen and is happening.”

Port Chester - Chris Kazim

Each of the successive updates to Tier 6 has been about making this tier equitable with previous tiers, and that means getting Tier 6 members less time until they hit retirement age — and also more money.

While contribution rates were addressed for ERS members this round, they were not addressed for TRS members, but members remain committed to continuing the battle for this component.

“It is a big step in the right direction. I just hope we can continue fighting for retirement equity in terms of contributions as well,” said Philip Mavrikis, vice president of the Albany Public School Teachers Association. Mavrikis is hopeful that rates or the number of years Tier 6 members pay into the system will be reduced in future negotiations. “I want to get the contributions reduced because that’s something that affects us right now,” he said.

On its face, the recent victory may seem like just a question of time, but in reality, it also has financial implications.

When Kevin Toolan, president of the Patchogue Medford Congress of Teachers and a NYSUT Board member, heard the news, he began running the numbers for his members.

Suffolk rally - Patchogue Medford

By comparing two employees who began the same year, and projecting modest 1 percent salary raises over the course of their career, he estimated that just by lowering the retirement age, his Tier 6 members could save $60,572 in salary contributions, collect $44,100 in free health insurance, and collect another $611,745 in pension five years sooner than expected, resulting in a combined savings of $716,417. “That's three-quarters of a million dollars that just went into my members' pockets here at Patchogue,” said Toolan.

And more is coming.

“I think we can't let up on the gas pedal, right? I’m telling people that today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we reorganize to address the contribution rates and pension calculation,” said Toolan.

Michael McGowen, a member of the New Rochelle Federation of United School Employees, spoke at the statewide Rally to Fix Tier 6 in March and said being in the arena gave him a good feeling; this latest victory only substantiated that.

Mike McGowen.New Rochelle FUSE

“Being in the arena, with our collective voice and power, left me with a strong sense of hope,” he said. “With today's news about Tier 6 reform, that feeling of hope is stamped into reality!” McGowen enumerated the victories and noted that they touched so many professionals. “When we work together, we win.”

“Teachers deserve a fair retirement. They deserve a 30-year career, so this is big news,” said John Liquori, a member of the Elmira TA.

Liquori was at the statewide Rally to Fix Tier 6 in March. “It was powerful to see that many converge for one cause,” said Liquori. The arena was full of educators, firefighters, nurses and public servants, and Liquori said the atmosphere was electric.

“I think I knew it was inevitable,” he recalled. “I didn’t know what we were going to get from this budget ... but I could tell this was an irresistible force, and this announcement proves that. We can’t be ignored, and this win is going to give us momentum to keep working on other changes for our Tier 6 members.”

Reducing retirement age is critical because this profession takes a toll, Liquori continued. Educators carry unique physical, emotional, and professional demands, and those pressures can hurt their longevity and negatively impact student outcomes. “Each year, teaching gets a little bit harder. Teachers are being asked to do more every year, and burnout is real,” said Liquori. “This is going to be life-changing for so many.”