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48,000 members to benefit from pension settlement
Oct 15, 2009 2:50 PM
The state Supreme Court has signed off on the $160 million settlement of a UFT-initiated pension lawsuit that will benefit approximately 48,000 retired and Tier I and II in-service UFT members.
Each eligible member of the 20-Year Pension Class Settlement will receive a one-time lump-sum payment from the settlement.
The UFT class-action suit challenged the calculations of a specific interest allocation of the Teachers’ Retirement System’s retirement benefit for Tier I and II members of plans A and C (the 20-year plan).
The city agreed to the $160 million settlement in 2007, two years after the suit was filed.
Since then, the city and the UFT have been working with the TRS and the city actuary to determine exactly how the settlement should be allocated among the class members.
Now that the details have been agreed to and a final settlement has been reached by the court, processing of checks for retirees — ranging from $100 to $7,500, depending on the period of miscalculation — can begin. In-service members will receive a contribution to their Increased Take-Home Pay account.
Checks are expected to be mailed in January or February.
A TRS letter and court legal notices were sent out last spring to members who are a party to the suit to explain the details of the settlement and indicate the approximate amount a retired member is entitled to receive as a cash payment or an in-service member is entitled to receive as credit to his/her Increased Take-Home Pay account.
There will be no recalculations of retirement benefits as a result of the settlement.
Members were given until last June to challenge their individual Calculation Notice and provide documentation to correct any error.
