Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law three state bills in December that incrementally improved UFT members’ pension benefits.

The first bill provides for the automatic enrollment of eligible employees in the New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS). Going forward, all substitute teachers and substitute paraprofessionals will be enrolled in BERS. They can then transfer that service credit to the Teachers’ Retirement System if they are appointed full time in the future.

The second bill provides an increased death benefit for in-service members who are over age 60. If these members die while still working, their beneficiaries will now receive up to 20% more.

The final bill allows city and state workers who accidentally joined two pension systems to retire under the pension system that best suits them. Before this bill, a city lifeguard who forgot he had joined the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and later had a long career as a teacher would have had to retire with a much smaller NYCERS pension. Now, that person can retire under TRS.