Effective January 1, 2010, Legislature established a new Tier 5 for New York State
public pension systems. This includes both the NYS Employees Retirement System
(ERS) and the NYS Teachers Retirement System (TRS).
Anyone entering New York State service, and electing to join ERS or TRS, on or after
January 1, 2010, will belong to Tier 5. Rules of Tier 5 membership differ between ERS
and TRS. The following is a comparison of the two systems.
Please refer to the websites for additional information:
NYS ERS
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/
NYS TRS
http://www.nystrs.org/
TIER 5 – NYS TRS
Enrollment in the Teachers
Retirement System is
limited to employees in
teaching titles.
10 years of service
TIER 5 – NYS ERS
Enrollment in the
Employees Retirement
System is open to any New
York State employee.
10 years of service
Employee Contribution
3.5% throughout active
membership
3.0% throughout active
membership
Prior Service Cost
3.5% of salary plus interest
3.0% of salary plus interest
Normal Retirement
Eligibility
Age 62 with 10 years of
service
Age 62 with 10 years of
service
Unreduced Retirement
(Prior to age 62)
At least age 57 with 30 or
more years of service
None
Pension Factor
2.0% begins at 25 years of
service credit
2.0% begins at 20 years of
service credit
Age Reductions (prorated
by month – prior to age 62
Age 55: .3833
Age 61: .0667
Age 55: .3833
Age 61: .0667
PLAN PROVISION
Vesting Eligibility
The amount of overtime that can be considered in the calculation of pension benefits is
capped at $15,000 per year for both systems.