Sunday, April 11, 2021

NYC MANAGERIAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION POSTS ON EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE

Thanks to a reader for sending this information out on the Early Retirement Incentive from the NYC Managerial Employees Association. We learn from them that as of Friday Governor Cuomo had not yet signed the ERI.

This blog will not be offering uninformed, irresponsible pension advice. We will, however, print publicly available information on the ERI.  In addition, we don't recommend taking advice from anonymous commenters. Call UFT or TRS for pension advice. 

The NYCMEA statement on the ERI:

The New York State Legislature has passed budget bills S2509C and A3009C, including an Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) {part KKK} and sent them to the governor on April 7, 2021. If and when the Governor signs the bill, the City will have the option of implementing it or not. The Mayor can deny any individual or title or unit deemed “critical” for revenue or public safety reasons. He can designate each agency’s commissioner to make these decisions for their respective agencies.

MEA Pension Consultant Jay Warshofsky has analyzed the bills’ basic points to note to potential participants:

●The bills include NYCERS, TRS and BERS members only {subpart C.}  NY State and local pension systems are not mentioned.

●If approved by the Governor and the Mayor, the ERI in NYCERS cannot start before June 30, 2021 and end no later than October 31, 2021.  The ERI in TRS cannot start before April 1, 2021 and end no later than August 3, 2021. The open application period for both will probably be 90 days. Any retiree must provide at least 14 days notice.

●All pension members would retire under the rules of their current tier and plan.  To be eligible they must have a minimum age of 50 with minimum 10 years pension credit. 

●Employees both age 55 or older and with 25 years or more of pension credit will not incur an age penalty.

●The ERI provides one month additional credit for each year of credited service with a maximum of 36 months credit.

We await details and procedures from NYCERS, DCAS, OLR and each individual agency if and when our Mayor signs the executive order to initiate the process. We will share them with you as soon as we receive them and will schedule a Zoom seminar with Mr. Warshofsky to help answer questions that you may have after the procedures have been posted in your agencies.


45 comments:

  1. What was the reason NY state employees were not included?

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    1. Maureen, Call your local Assembly person and get back to us on why state workers are not included. I don't know the answer to your question.

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  2. I am 55 and will be at 24 years service at the conclusion of the current school year. Additionally, I'm a participant in 55/25. If the bill is signed, would the 2 years service credit in the incentive effectively bump me to 26 years service credit and allow me to retire at the end of the year with a 52% pension? Thank you and good luck to us all!!

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    1. We are in the same situation. I hope we can both opt in to this ERI and walk away. I hope we get clear guidance soon. Keep safe.

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  3. This article says you can retire at 50. I did not see that in the recently passed legislation. Does that mean anybody at age 50 can retire and collect their pension if they have say, 20+ years in the system? (I know it would be a reduced pension)

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    1. You can’t collect until 55

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    2. I believe you can collect ofcourse with a 25% penalty on FAS. Call TRS or the union for additional info. Cheers!

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  4. 2:00
    We are in the exact same situation. I hope we can both walk away !

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  5. DREAM SCENARIO
    50/10 CAN OPT IN
    IF YOU BOUGHT INTO 55/25 AND COMPLETED YEARS OF SERVICE = NO PENALTY.
    IF YOU HAVEN'T FURFILLED YOUR OBLIGATIONS- YEARS OF SERVICE THEN PENALTY- SLIGHTY OFFSET BY THE PENSION CREDIT

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  6. So 57/24 can benefit two years of credit despite not doing 55/25?

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    1. Yeah I’m very interested in the details. I’m 57 years old. 24 years in the system. Planning on retiring next Feb 21 when I will be 58 (did NOT do 55/25) but was happy to leave even despite willing to take the 18% early retirement hit.
      But now may not take that hit AT ALL and could leave earlier!!!

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  7. NYC school classroom closures since spring break ended:

    4/5: 38 classrooms closed
    4/11: 850 classrooms closed

    Dues well spent

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    1. That stat will go down soon given the new rules. My accommodation is good until June right?

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    2. That stat will go down soon given the new rules. My accommodation is good until June right?

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  8. I think the classroom closure stat will actually be higher going forward. A case in a classroom still closes a classroom, so more individual classrooms will close since multiple cases are unlikely to trigger a school closure.

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  9. When do you think the ERI would be signed by Cuomo? Additionally, if I'm not mistaken, didn't DeBlasio publicly support the measure last fall? It seems like a win-win for older, burnt out highest paid teachers and the city saving $$$... I'll jump on it, if signed!!

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  10. Question: If approved it states that, "Employees both age 55 or older and with 25 years or more of pension credit will not incur an age penalty." What happens to those of us who have been paying into the 25/55 for 15 years if we opt into ERI? Is that money credited back?

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  11. So this ERI is a done deal—unless Cuomo or DeBlasio don’t sign. Is that a possibility?

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  12. Of course, Cuomo could veto and deBlasio can exclude certain titles.

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  13. I have a picture in my mind of people running down a hill screaming for joy. What does this tell you about the profession?

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  14. He/she who gives pension advice in anonymous blog comments is a fool. He/she who asks for and accepts pension advice from anonymous bloggers is a bigger fool.

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    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, the retirement system that we work for has no information on the website, even the counselors do not know much. Just hoping they have everything clearly spelled out. ��

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  15. Fingers crossed that Cuomo and deBlasio agree on this ERI ......

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  16. Fingers crossed that Cuomo and deBlasio agree on this ERI ......

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  17. Fingers crossed that Cuomo and deBlasio agree on this ERI ......

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  18. 12:43: This concept of not collecting till 55 does not make sense. The bill clearly states the penalties for retiring BEFORE 55 (5% per year, prorated...someone 6 months shy would pay 2.5%, etc.). Why would you pay a penalty for the rest of your life and then NOT collect until 55. You can just retire and defer your pension till 55 if you bought into 55/25 and have the 25 years, then you would need to bridge time for income and health ins. till you could collect, unless of course you just want to add the extra incentive time, which would most likely not make sense monetarily unless you're just a few months out. I agree with 12:36...too much pension advice going on from those who have no clue. Also, the governor has 10 days (this Saturday) to agree with the budget, so things should start to fall into place this coming week. You're all teachers, educate yourselves and learn to read with comprehension, this is another reason why our students do so poorly in school.

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  19. I agree that giving or taking pension advice on blogs is for fools.

    That said, the Chaz material is much appreciated and is generally very good though sometimes very dated. None of it, obviously, covers the ERI or "buy out" bill under discussion here. And some of it is speculation about past proposals that never materialized.


    I applaud the late Chaz and James both for discouraging those seeking or giving advice on blogs.

    Your retirement is a serious matter and you should educated yourself about it.

    For most, the best source4s are TRS and UFT.

    However, neither of these is infallible, mistake are made all the time.

    I've spoken with people at TRS and at UFT who really have no qualifications to be giving basic information, let alone advice.

    So do your own homework. Read. Study it. Don't listen to rumors and scuttlebutt.

    Sometimes senior teachers are a good source for ideas to look into, but don't take anything as gospel. Look it up. Do the leg work. It's quite a complex web and you need to educate yourself.

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    1. Well said Shelley and very true. Hard to get accurate info. Even from our own retirement systems that we work for. Can't blame them either cus they don't have much info. Themselves . Bureaucracy at its best. Hopefully it'll change by June and I take everything back.�� Good luck all!

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  20. And, ask your CL to invite the experts from TRS, DCP in to explain things to you and answer your questions.

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  21. The UFT will probably hold special Pension Clinics via Zoom to explain all terms of any ERI —if it indeed comes to fruition.
    Actually, the in person borough by borough Pension Clinic Series— were the one of best things they ever did—you matter how much you may disapprove of Mulgrew
    If they ever resume—I would recommend any Tier 4 person of any age or years in service to attend at least one clinic. (They probably were even holding Tier 6 clinics too).

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  22. The best source of accurate ERI info is from TRS. They won’t release any info on their site until both Cuomo and DeBlasio sign off on the bill.

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    1. I think you are correct because the city has the final say once it’s signed by Cuomo. They can be selective and no one wants to build too high hopes. Let’s be hopeful but I commend the contributions of all.

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  23. Mid April. Schools open. Arbitration, uft, trs, doe not open. The mayor said today that crime is rising because the court system is closed. But schools are open and are becoming more open. Can I get my spring break pay from last year?

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  24. The obvious question:

    Will our final average salary include the rate for the added years. The difference between a FAS of 22 yrs and 25 yrs can make a difference...

    Anyone care to share?

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  25. Yes, though your no of yrs of will increase a bit, your FAS will still be at the actual no of yrs worked.

    Not really a good deal...

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  26. If you are comfortable enough financially, do 20 years and get out at 42 years old.

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  27. Agree with Jeff...40% pension before penalty if you take it at 55. The job sucks.

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  28. Pretty straightforward retirement incentive...offering years of service (up to 3 if qualified) as an incentive...it is the word ‘early’ that is tricking one or two folks.

    The word ‘early’ in this context means some 55+ folks can hit the required YEARS OF SERVICE ‘earlier’ with this incentive. And retire and immediately collect without penalty.

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    1. What about age 55 but only 24 years. Nada? With penalty even?

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  29. The Governor has 10 days from the date the Bills are delivered to him, minus Sundays, to sign or veto, or they automatically become Law. The ERI is included in the Revenue Bill that has many, many other facets to it. Perviously, the Mayor stated that he supports ERIs and they are a solution but not the entire solution. I think he also has an agreement with the unions to implement an ERI in return for the deferral of payments. It will be interesting to see how this soap opera ends, but I can’t imagine each City Agency Commissioner deciding for their Agency which title gets the incentive and not. At least for Mayoral Agencies it has to be across the board. I can’t imagine a Union, like DC37, sitting quietly while a Clerical Associate in DOT gets the incentive and another Clerical Associate in Parks not getting it. Same would hold for teachers in terms of one school offering their teachers the ERI and another not. To be continued.

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  30. My reading says that you get 2 years and you're done with 26 years = 52%
    Maybe if you didn't buy 55/25 there's a penalty...who knows?

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  31. My Corker told me that in 2008 and forward, teachers were mandated to pay into 55/25 in addition to the regular contributions.i thought 55/25 was an option, not a mandate.it seems confusing as to why this wasnt made public if it is true.unless she is being lied to...

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  32. Guess we will find out more next week when the Revenue Bill, which contains the ERI, becomes Law. Then we will see what the Mayor does next. It certainly would be terrible if he didn’t authorize the ERI.

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