Below is a letter the Teachers Retirement System sent to active UFTers urging them to increase their TDA contributions for the final lump sum contribution that was expected for October 15:
Dear TRS Member:
Even during these uncertain times, investing in your own retirement is always a smart decision. And TRS' Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) Program is a great tool for you to use. In October, you have the rare opportunity to make a "painless" one-time deposit into your TDA account.
Our records show that you may be receiving the upcoming retroactive payment under the United Federation of Teachers contract. The payment is scheduled for October 15, 2020, according to the Department of Education.
The larger paycheck means a larger investment in your TDA account, if you are actively making TDA contributions. But you can invest even more for your retirement by increasing your TDA contribution rate (the percentage of your pay that you invest in TDA) in advance.
Changes to your TDA contribution rate normally take effect about 30-45 days after you elect the change on our website, so here are the dates to remember:
When to go online to increase your rate:
9/1-9/15
When to go online again to change your rate back:
9/16 or later
These two steps will allow you to put a bigger chunk of that one big paycheck into TDA—and then to resume contributing at your regular rate on future paychecks.
Changing your TDA contribution rate online is easy: Just enter your username and password at www.trsnyc.org, choose TDA in the main menu bar, and then use the Change Rate feature.
If you have any difficulties logging in, the how-to videos on our website may help you.
If you continue to have issues, we suggest you try again during TRS business hours, so that you can call a Member Services Representative for assistance if needed.
Once you complete the rate change, TRS will send you a confirmation email and letter. But keep in mind that the new rate won't be shown on your TDA page until the change is made on payroll.
We hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity to boost your retirement savings. And, if you're not yet contributing to TDA, now's a great time to start!
For more information, please refer to our TDA Program Summary.
Sincerely,
weird... I cannot see the upcoming paycheck??? is that a true payhcheck?
ReplyDeleteVerified.
ReplyDeleteAnother example for the dues payers to realize the scabs are correct.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the uft will do their job when Biden announces if he's packing the Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteStop living paycheck to paycheck and save your money. How about saving up an emergency fund instead of contributing to an illiquid investment? God, you oldies are silly sometimes.
ReplyDeleteWe could get some pro labor judges then 9:02.
ReplyDeleteWhat 908? I'm 40 and have 400k in the TDA.
ReplyDeleteYou could contribute for a few more years at the max, then stop and have 1,000,000 easily at 55. Put the TDA contribution into the 457 and you wouldn't have to wait until 55 to go ..
Delete@9:08 p.m. Easy for you to say when you tend to live in a bubble ken and barbie white Privileged world...You have some nerve to generalize what other people should do with their money! You can take your advice and shove it up your Chase account you inhumane motherfucker!
ReplyDeletePro labor judges so I would be forced to pay dues to a corrupt and fraudulent union. Lol. No thanks. Dues payers are the proven suckers.
ReplyDeleteWhat does white have to do with this?
ReplyDeleteI am sure you have the 400k at 40 @9:35. The same way your mommy and daddy paid for your cellphone bills, your car, your car insurance, your college and more. 400k considering all of your privileges is not a whole lot. Your beer pocket money ain't cutting the mustard. We're not impressed.
ReplyDelete9:48, It's not white, it's white privilege. Two different things. I object to someone who doesn't know shit about my circumstances telling me what to do with my money.
ReplyDeleteYes, my parents did pay for my college. What does that have to do with compounding interest in the TDA over 18 years?
ReplyDeleteSo why are you attacking someone who has saved and invested in the TDA. You don't even know if he/she is white.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is easier to save money when you have rich educated parents. Both of my parents did not graduate from high school, but I went on to get a master's degree and left grad school with $38,000 in loans. Also I just purchased my first house at 46 years old. It's not so easy to save when you have to pay for everything yourself and you don't have wealthy parents or a wealthy spouse to back you up. I really hate when parents put down payments on homes for people and then they brag about their home. Pathetic really. Like the theme in the sitcom "Alice," things are great when you stand on your own two feet.
ReplyDeleteI'm 400k tda. First, my parents aren't rich. 2nd, I paid for my own house. 3rd, cuny colleges, 27 years ago, would not have caused that much debt. Your assumptions are off base. And you brought up skin color. If I brought up crime rate you wouldn't appreciate it.
ReplyDelete@10:06 pm...
DeleteCrime is committed by criminals. I don't understand your connection. Anywho, folks need to stay out of other folks wallets.
Couldn’t agree more!
ReplyDeleteAs any other member of a NYC union about what has happened to the UFT and they will laugh at you. Completely sold us out. Imagine getting that retro payment in 2014 as a lump sum...UFT members could’ve paid off loans, down payments on etc
ReplyDeleteThank you 10:02 for saying so. Sincere congratulations on the house I could never get, starting from nothing and working my way through life single income with a sick spouse as prices continuously rose. My TDA has always been between 3-5% because that's all I could afford to give up. Rare vacations. No luxury spending. Just a constant fight against debt. I get sick of advice of "well maybe you should save up some money." I'm much better off now than I was even 10 years ago thanks to longevity and contract raises and getting near retirement but no one should judge another financially (or otherwise) without first knowing the story.
ReplyDelete10:06: I'm not the same person who wrote about skin color and I wasn't necessarily referring to you, but it is easier for some people to save money over others.
ReplyDeleteWorkin for NYC is like being in an abusive relationship. I’m seein BdB more on a level of a bastard me2’er, the way he treats teachers. In abusive relationships, you learn not 2 leave them, right? U learn to tolerate abusive behavior. So U stay with the city. Like we done. Shit.
ReplyDeleteMaybe UFT can cut emergency checks for people in this situation.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is a real paycheck. The portal was working briefly last Thursday night. It hasn't worked since to my knowledge. Besides us giving the city another interest free loan, they are once again holding people who want to get out prisoner.
ReplyDeleteSince you cannot resign and work else and get your backpay people must yet again wait or lose their hard earned money.
We need change. I am constantly reminding everyone who complains about the violations, pay, no ventilation yet teachers are in buildings that we need change. We need new leadership that is not in bed with the mayor though kickbacks to his sisters business. Please remember that time and time again Mulgrew has failed us. There are other people who run and need to be given a change. Enough is enough. I do not support any specific group. I support common sense and the need for members to recognize we deserve better and we are NEVER GOING TO GET IT FROM MULGREW. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO CREATE CHANGE AND A BETTER WORK SITUATION FOR ALL OF US. GIVE SOMEONE ELSE A CHANCE TO RUN THE UNION AND HELP US.
WE ARE NOT MOVING FORWARD AND GETTING STRONGER AS A UNION. WE ARE CONSTANTING FIGHTING TO HOLD OUR GROUND AND ARE NOT BECAUSE WE ARE ALWAYS GIVING BACK-TEACHERS CHOICE-GIVING BACK-BACKPAY-GIVING BACK
HEALTH AND SAFETY. I HAVE LISTENED TO ALL THE TOWN HALL MEETING THIS PAST SUMMER AND MULGEW CHANGED WHAT HE SAID IE LIED. SWORE UP AND DOWN WE WOULD NOT OPEN WE COULD NOT OPEN WITHOUT THE HEROS ACT...BACKPAY ON TIME... I COULD GO ON AND ON.
POINT IS...IT'S OUR UNION WE NEED TO TAKE IT BACK AND MOVE FORWARD. CHANGE IS NEEDED.
@6:44 am. EXACTLY. We all know how insane this is i.e. doing the same thing...
DeleteTeachers, these days, are so divided and pitted against each other. I don't know if we can ever be united again. Bloomberg's mission of divide and conquer is not fully yet accomplished but well on its way.
ReplyDeletePeople's finances are so personal, there is not need to discuss. It causes people to direct anger and frustration toward each other instead of toward the corrupt leadership.
To me, the bottom line is about what is right and what is wrong. Money earned, loaned and owed should be given when it is due. NYC reneged and the Mulgrew agreed. What the City has done is wrong. What the Mulgrew has done is wrong. We, as, teachers should direct our anger and frustration toward the City and Mulgrew.
Perhaps DiBlasio and Mulgrew should set the example, and good leaders do, and differ half their yearly salary until July 2021!
@7:25 am...precisely. what's right and what's wrong. Be kind. Treat others the way you wish to be treated. Simple sh^% that should have been learned in childhood and practiced throughout life.
DeleteTake a stand for:
Healthy working conditions
Professional independence
Grading and promotion standards
Discipline code
Respect
The ball is in OUR court. Never let a good crisis go to waste. Put an end to the DOE bs now. Together One hammer. One hit.
At this point, even if you are able to view it, I wouldn't trust the current paystub displayed at the payroll portal.
ReplyDeleteThat said, members should be bombarding UFT with emails and calls to tell them how the latest fiasco will impact them and their families, and trying to figure out how we might get this message to DOE and TRS so we may all make adjustments before the checks go out and we end up with paychecks we didn't plan for, but what we have, as usual, is conspiracy theory fear mongering, political assault on other members, childish taunting and one-upmanship. It's sad. It's very sad that the legitimate anger here has not been put to any positive action to any organization for change. Once again, I applaud the blogger, James, who is a committed Union Man who stand up, and who has generously given us his time and his knowledge and sage advice, but the recent haughtiness on this blog, by anonymous followers makes it difficult to continue here, as wading through the petty and imbecile posts is a distraction from the enormous value we can gain here. Please have some self restraint tnad respect for yourself and others.
Now that we missed the great opportunity to strike during the pandemic depression we have to fight back against the politically powerful, fumbling fools who are takling full advantage of the crisis. We don't need to agree on most things. In fact, disagreement is a positive. If we want a more democratic union we need to acknowledge our political differences and come together to defeat Unity. This won't happen if we direct our anger at other members now.
In frustration, I through up my hands and say, stop paying the thieves who are robbing us. It seems to me the only method left to get their attention and force change, but they have just added more dues payers to their bank account.
Look, without a union we will work longer hours for less pay and lose pension and healthcare benefits. It's that simple. And these losses will come like a hammer blow, not like the current chiseling away that Unity is complicit in. We could lose big and fast. As I've pointed out here many times, ours is a weak union in a state that is not as union friendly as members think. The laws, the structure, the super-rich deformers, there is much set against us. We need a union. But we don't have one now, Ours is an anti-union. This is not something new to union politics here in NY. The history of labor in can't be told without several chapters on the corruption of union leaders and bosses. We know this. The law allows this and only our true enemies would "reform" the laws that protect corrupt abuse of the members. So we've little choice but to stop paying the devil we know and plan to replace him. It's a risky strategy. Not my first choice, but as members will not, even during a depression, even as their lives are at stake, support any job action, I see no other viable plan. Unity will not be defeated with votes.
Hang together or hand separately,
S
Please tell me all this TDA sturm und drang (look it up semi-literate newbies) is a joke. I get it, too much money being taken out of the wrong check. OK, it’s unfortunate, but the money isn’t gone it’s put away for your retirement at an unbelievable interest rate One drastically reduced paycheck never ruined anyone’s life or even their credit rating. Things go wrong, especially when you are dealing with unreliable bureaucracies like NYC and UFT. get over it. Thank goodness nobody asked you to go on strike which would have totally forfeited your paycheck for weeks or maybe even months.
ReplyDelete"Has anyone heard of NYPD, Sanitation, FDNY, CSA, DC37, or any other city union deferring money they were owed?"
ReplyDeleteOnly spineless UFTers get screwed.
Some idiot brought up white privilege so someone else brought up black crime rate.
ReplyDeleteMost teachers are very dumb. So they paid into the TDA, small check on 10/15...Now on the 10/31 check you will take home more. What is so complicated? The dumbest of NY. I wish they were this mad when they voted for this in 2014. Or when they were sent into infected buildings. Or when they get abused daily.
ReplyDeleteHow this is ok with anybody is beyond me. Somehow, the 2014 deal keeps getting worse. Another year of waiting with no interest. 12 years. Market up 400%. This is another favor we do while we get nothing in return. By the way, trs, uft, doe still closed while we go on infected trains and buses to get to infected buildings.
ReplyDeleteOh boo hoo! You accidentally invested more in your retirement for ONE paycheck. Meanwhile others are living paycheck t paycheck and don't have any leftovers to even get the match in their corporate job. Check your privilege you BOOMERS!!!
ReplyDeleteEveryone should email Tom Brown and ask him to get your money back tbrown22@schools.nyc.gov
ReplyDeleteIt’s not the Boomers who are bitching. We pretty much left with our seven-figure TDA
ReplyDeletea long time ago
But pay dues, suckers.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of Tom Brown.... I was the chapter leader of an intermediate school back when we gave away the 8 1/4%. Brown came to our school and guaranteed that it was a good deal because 8 1/4% was absolutely unsustainable and the CSA would be losing it too without getting anything in return. Of course that was back when Tom had a much less responsible decision with the UFT. I’m sure he’s a lot smarter now
ReplyDeleteThe downside to TDA is that the money you see is not totally yours. When you start pulling out at 71 0r 72 you pay taxes so about 30% of what you see is not yours. But also add the factor that if you also get a pension and social security - the TDA jumps you to a higher tax bracket. So in essence the growth of the TDA over the years with compound interest is also growing taxes. Paying taxes up front when you are making less should not be off the table if you can save and also invest in say the S&P 500 all along. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteBut what are you doing after earniong the money if not the TDA? If you invest in stocks, pay taxes twice and no 7% guarantee. The 457, TDA and roth ira means you are skipping taxes on one side or the other. Should Lebron James be mad he pays a lot of taxes on 100M a year?
ReplyDeleteIt's like what Willy Loman implies in Death of a Salesman. By the time you can enjoy your money, you're too old to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteTRS has learned that, after arbitration between the City and the United Federation of Teachers, the lump-sum payment to UFT members originally scheduled for October 15 will occur in two parts, with one half paid on October 30 and the second half paid in July 2021. Later today, TRS will send an email to members who previously changed their TDA contribution rate to coincide with the lump-sum payment. No changes can be made to the October 15 paycheck; however, the email will explain members' options for future paychecks and other alternatives. We ask members to wait for this email message this evening instead of taking the time to call TRS today about this issue.
ReplyDeleteExactly correct. No other union folded the way the UFT did. NOw I have to struggle to make my mortgage payment on the 20th and may not be able to on time (may have to pay late fees also) all because I ended up with less than half my pay because of what the city did to us this week.
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of the excuses and union folding (allowing teachers to be taken advantage of while no other union will stand for what we endure). I do not want to hear anymore that we sacrifice and do it for the children of nyc. My children and family have sacrificed enough and so have many other teachers.
I am having trouble sleeping! This decision is so upsetting. Such an outrage! I just checked my pay stub which by the way was not available to see until recently. Further, is so much less because I raised my TDA contribution in anticipation of the retro lump sum payment. This is placing a huge financial ambush and placing a huge budgetary burden on teachers in the middle of a pandemic. Many of us are sole breadwinners at home as well as support extended family members who are suffering financially due to job loss. I really feel so betrayed by the union and the city. What a horrible act of disrespect for our sacrifices and hard work for the children of NYC.
ReplyDelete