If you resign and want to withdraw your pension funds, including the interest earned, you may be able to do so, depending on how long you worked and contributed. However, there may be several other choices available to you. You may be able to continue your membership and receive a pension allowance in the future, or you may transfer to another eligible retirement system, or wait a while to make a final decision. The union strongly recommends that you contact a pension consultant in your UFT borough office if you leave the school system or are thinking about it. The TRS also has numerous publications that contain details of the options available. Go to www.trsnyc.org to read or order one or write to TRS, 55 Water St., New York, NY 10041. BERS members can go to www.nycbers.org, call 929-305-3800 or write to BERS at 65 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

Your pension is based on a complex formula that includes such factors as your date of appointment, your years of service, your age at retirement and your final average salary. You are entitled to an individual preliminary pension consultation any time before you retire to answer your questions and get an estimate of your pension payments and other benefits. Call your UFT borough office for an appointment.

Tier I — those who joined TRS before July 1, 1973.

Tier II — those who joined TRS after June 30, 1973 and before July 27, 1976

Tier III — those who joined TRS after July 26, 1976 and before September 1, 1983

All Tier III members may retire under Tier IV.

Tier IV (age 62) — those who joined TRS after August 31, 1983 but prior to Feb. 28, 2008.  Many Tier IV members have opted into the 55/25 plan.

Tier IV (55/27) — those who joined after Feb. 28, 2008 but prior to April 1, 2012.

Tier VI — those who joined the retirement system after March 31, 2012.

First, your contributions are deducted from your paycheck before taxes are taken out; as a result, your current taxes are lower. (For New York residents, this includes federal, state and local taxes. Please check with your accountant about state taxes if you are not a resident of New York State.) Furthermore, taxes are deferred on both your contributions and your investment return; therefore, more of your money remains invested, and your money grows faster than it would in a comparable investment that isn’t tax-deferred. Finally, taxes are payable at the rate charged when you withdraw the funds, a rate that may be lower than your tax rate during your peak earnings years. Another important benefit is that your contributions are made through payroll deductions; this makes saving for your retirement automatic and convenient.

Being in the retirement system gives you the security of knowing that if you complete the minimum requirements you will receive a monthly pension allowance for the rest of your life after you retire. If you also enroll in the Tax-Deferred Annuity Program, you can put aside money from your salary and not pay taxes on that income until you draw on the funds; at retirement, these savings could fund a separate annuity. TRS members also can take loans from both the pension plan and the TDA program. If you become disabled before you are eligible for a regular service pension, you can receive a disability pension. Finally, if you die while you are still in service, your beneficiary can receive a death benefit.

It is very important to choose a beneficiary or beneficiaries so you can be sure that if you die while you are still working for the New York City public schools the person(s) you choose receives your death benefit, instead of leaving it up to the courts. You need to designate beneficiaries for both your pension and your Tax Deferred Annuity, and remember to keep your designations up to date if circumstances change. You can view or change your current beneficiaries for your Qualified Pension Plan (QPP) and TDA accounts by logging in to the TRS website at www.trsnyc.org. BERS members may call 929-305-3800.

In some cases, Tiers III, IV and VI members can purchase service credit for certain employment they had before joining TRS. For your service to be eligible, the work had to have been rendered while you were in public employment in New York City or New York State. Generally, any New York City or New York State service rendered prior to your membership date may count as pensionable service.

In addition to the defined benefit Qualified Pension Plan, the Teachers’ Retirement System and the Board of Education Retirement System offer a voluntary program, the Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) that allows you to save additional money for your retirement. Taxes are deferred on your contributions to the TDA and on any investment earnings from those contributions until you withdraw the money as income. How much your contributions earn depends on your investment choices. Upon retiring, you may receive your TDA funds in various ways, including as an annuity that is separate from and in addition to your pension allowance.

The state laws governing the public employee pensions have changed over time. Usually the changes do not apply to people who have already joined the retirement system — in other words, the new pension plan applies only to future members. So the rules about how old you have to be and how long you have to work before you qualify for reduced or full retirement benefits differ depending on when you were hired and joined the retirement system. To better understand your plan, speak to a union pension consultant at your UFT borough office. The union also offers in-depth pension clinics in the UFT borough offices at various times throughout the year for those two to three years from retiring.  Also, make sure you register on the Teachers’ Retirement System website at www.trsnyc.org so you can track the details of your pension status. The TRS also has numerous publications that describe your benefits in detail. Go to www.trsnyc.org. BERS-eligible members can go to www.nycbers.org or call BERS at 929-305-3800.

Yes, but the required age differs depending on when you joined the retirement system and what pension tier you are in. To find out the minimum age you must reach before collecting full or reduced pension benefits, you can speak to a pension consultant at your UFT borough office or attend an in-depth UFT pension clinic. The retirement systems also have several publications that describe the retirement plans in detail. Go to the Teachers’ Retirement System at www.trsnyc.org or the Board of Education Retirement System at www.nycbers.org.