NYSUT President Melinda Person released the following statement in response to announced fixes to Tier 6 in the state budget:
"Today’s Tier 6 agreement is proof that when workers organize and stay united, change is possible. This is a victory for public workers across New York.
Because members across New York refused to give up, we secured meaningful progress for public workers — including lowering the retirement age from 63 to 58 after 30 years of service for members in the NYS and NYC Teachers’ Retirement Systems and reducing contribution rates for many other public employees.
This victory belongs to every member who spoke out, rallied, lobbied, and kept the pressure on. We are taking an important step toward building a fairer future for the next generation of public workers. And we’re going to keep fighting."
While final language and details will be included in the enacted state budget, two significant Tier 6 changes are confirmed:
- For NYS and NYC TRS members: Tier 6 members will be able to retire at age 58 with 30 years of service, 5 years earlier than the current age-63 requirement and a direct affirmation of what we've stressed all along: 30 years should be a career.
- For members in ERS: contribution rates will drop for most employee payment bands. This is money that will now stay in members' pockets, paycheck after paycheck.
This is the most significant Tier 6 rollback since the system was imposed in 2012 and it layers on top of past wins thanks to NYSUT members' advocacy, most notably the 2024 Final Average Salary fix, worth around $100,000 in lifetime pension earnings for Tier 6 members. For NYSUT members in TRS Tier 6, these combined changes mean they will retire a half a decade earlier with larger pension checks for life.