Secure Your Future
DOE nurses allowed to switch to better pension system
Sep 23, 2005 11:53 AM
Nurses working for the Department of Education who chose to remain members of the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) as transferred contributors instead of exercising their right to transfer to the Board of Education Retirement System when they became eligible to join BERS, now have a second chance to do so. But the deadline is Sept. 28.
Membership in BERS has proven to have some advantages over membership in NYCERS, and the UFT was able to get Chapter 570 of the laws of 2005 enacted to give nurses another opportunity to join the more advantageous system.
The law specifies that “any transferred contributor who had been eligible to transfer to the New York City Board of Education Retirement System on or after Jan. 1, 1990, shall be eligible to transfer to such system provided that he or she applies to transfer within 90 days of the effective date of this subdivision. Should such a transfer be effected, the member shall be deemed to have been a member of the New York City Board of Education System since the commencement of his or her employment by the New York City Board of Education.”
The 90-day period ends on Sept. 28.
NYCERS has not developed a specific form for a transfer. Therefore, if you wish to do so, you should write a letter to NYCERS requesting the transfer. The letter must include your membership number and state that you are a transferred contributor and would like to transfer to BERS. The letter must be received at NYCERS by midnight Sept. 28. NYCERS' mailing address is:
335 Adams Street, Suite 2300
Brooklyn, NY 11201-3751
Send the letter Return Receipt Requested.
Because of the importance of the issue and the imminent deadline, if you want to hand-deliver the letter, bring it to the NYCERS Customer Service Center, 340 Jay Street, Brooklyn. Be sure to obtain a receipt. Normal business hours at NYCERS are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you have questions, you may contact the UFT Pension Department at 1-212-598-6866/7 or speak to a pension consultant at your local UFT borough office.
