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.

Your pension is governed by state law and protected by the State Constitution. Whenever the State Legislature made substantial changes in public employee pensions, it passed a new law creating a new plan for people hired after the law’s effective date. So public employees fall into different pension plans depending on when they began their service.

The plans may have different costs and benefits, so to find out about your pension plan, you need to know what tier you are in. In some cases, people are permitted to change tiers or to transfer their tier membership from another eligible retirement system.

You can call Retiree Programs at 212-598-6879, check out the Retiree Programs section of the UFT website (http://www.uft.org/chapters/retirees/programs), the Guide to Retiree Programs on our website (http://www.uft.org/health-benefits/retiree-programs), read Si Beagle Learning Center annual meeting notices, attend annual meetings and read the retiree page in the New York Teacher (http://www.uft.org/news/ny-teacher/retired-teacher-chapter-news).

All UFT and Welfare Fund retiree members, as well as their spouses or domestic partners on file with the Welfare Fund, are entitled to participate in the program.

There are coordinators in all five boroughs as well as in Westchester/Rockland/Putnam, Suffolk and Nassau Counties, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, the greater Washington, DC area, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Israel. To find the phone number of the coordinator in your area, call the Retiree Programs’ office at 212-598-6879 or visit the Florida Section of the UFT Welfare Fund Retiree Programs on the UFT website or the Outreach Sections for other parts of the U.S or Israel.

Contact the coordinator of the Si Beagle Learning Center and make an appointment to discuss your idea. Bring your resume and a course outline. You can also mail a copy of your resume and course outline to: UFTWF Retiree Programs, 52 Broadway, 17th floor, NY, NY 10004, or send an email to: lynn.lospenuso@uftwf.org.

Retiree Social Services are available to retiree members and their families by calling 212-598-6880.

For a retroactively enrolled dependent, whether spouse, domestic partner or child, the effective date of eligibility is the beginning of the calendar year in which the dependent is added to the Welfare Fund.