Q: Can a school district offer additional service credit as a retirement incentive or does that have to be initiated by the state?

A: Districts cannot negotiate additional service credit. Only the state has the ability to offer retirement incentives that include additional service time. If the state offers an incentive, it is up to the local district to decide whether to opt in. It's always hard to predict when the state might offer an incentive.

Often, an offer is extended to school district employees when the state is trying to reduce the size of the state government work force. We'll keep you posted.

Q: I am a 56-year-old teacher in Tier 2 who plans to retire in June 2014 when I turn 62. When should I schedule a video meeting to discuss my individual retirement needs? It seems too early.

A: Your question indicates that you are wisely planning ahead. The New York State Teachers' Retirement System usually counsels members to seek initial video consultation about six to seven years before they plan to retire.

TRS also offers all-day Preretirement Planning Seminars, open to active members age 45 and older and their spouses/companions, to help members prepare for retirement. Among the topics discussed are: your TRS pension; Social Security; a review of your pension payment choices, including a comparison of option selections and private life insurance; maintaining essential estate planning documents and planning for possible long-term care; and financial planning, such as the basics of tax-deferred annuity accounts.

These seminars are not designed for individual retirement counseling. Check the TRS Web site, www.nystrs.org, for a schedule. There is no fee to attend; however, advance registration is required.

Q: I'm in Tier 2 and will be 56 in June. At the end of the school year I will have 27 years and 8 months of service. I would like to retire two years from June but need to do something about the one missing month. When my kids were small I substituted and received credit when I worked more than 20 days. However, one year I subbed for a total of 18 days and another year I subbed for 9 days so received no credit. Is an exception ever made to combine these days to give me the one month I need? Any other ideas? I really don't want to sign a contract for another year when all I need is one month.

A: Sorry but there are no exceptions because of state law. However, you could explore teaching summer school; that might give you an additional month of service credit. If you consider that idea, make certain to check with the TRS regarding their practice of crediting summer school. For example, does a day of summer school, which is usually shorter than a regular school day, equate to a full day of service credit? You could also teach for 20 days in the fall and then retire.

Q: My school offers what our contract calls a longevity salary adjustment ($8,000, which can be split during the last two years of teaching). I have received mixed messages as to whether this counts toward Final Average Salary.

A: We'll try to clarify. Longevity payments that are an integral part of the collective bargaining agreement, available to all members who are at those particular longevity points in the agreement and that are paid every year from that point in the career going forward are includable in FAS. However, these payments cannot be initiated "on the eve of retirement" (such as your $8,000, which can be split during the last two years of teaching).

Once any connection to retirement or condition of retirement is involved, it is not considered a longevity step, but rather a form of retirement incentive.