Whether you are considering retiring at the end of the school year or in the near future, there are several steps you should take to prepare for this milestone in your career.
Here are the six things everyone should do before filing a retirement application:
1. Schedule a Consultation. Meet with a NYSTRS representative, in person or by live video, to discuss your retirement questions. Run estimates for different retirement dates and discuss the various payment options available to you. See the online version of the Benefits Consultations schedule.
2. Understand Your Payment Options Before Choosing. Members who select the wrong payment option often face difficult financial and emotional challenges later. Avoid this mistake at all costs! Thoroughly review the difference between each and consider discussing them with a NYSTRS representative before making your selection. Also watch our two-part video “Your NYSTRS Benefit Payment”.
3. Apply for Retirement With NYSTRS. Retiring from your employer does NOTautomatically trigger retirement benefit payments. You must also file an application for retirement with NYSTRS in order to receive your monthly pension payment. File online through MyNYSTRS (age 55+) or submit a paper application (RET-54).
4. Know When to File Your Retirement Application. File too early (more than 90 days before your official date of retirement) and the application will not be valid. File on your date of retirement if you wish, but make sure your date of retirement is at least one day after your contract with your employer expires. File by early June if you want to receive your first payment in July.
5. Note That You Have a Limited Window for Withdrawing or Changing the Terms of Your Retirement. From your date of retirement you have 14 days to withdraw your retirement application and 30 days to change your benefit payment option. State law does not allow for exceptions.
6. Attend a PREP Seminar. These free seminars, offered year-round and open to all, cover NYSTRS benefits, financial planning, Social Security, estate planning and more. The summer schedule of seminars will be posted in mid-May.
If questions arise during the planning process, call (800) 348-7298, Ext. 6250 to speak with a NYSTRS representative. Retirement is one of your biggest life events so it is important to ensure you have all the facts before making decisions.