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New York · NYSTRS · Methods

How we estimate NYSTRS pensions

Every number on the New York pages comes from NYSTRS's own publications. Here's what the calculator does, where each rule comes from, and what it leaves out.

  1. 1

    Find your tier

    Your date of membership puts you in Tier 1 to 6.

    Handbook pp. 7, 28; Compilation of Laws 2026, Introduction
  2. 2

    Project your service

    We add the time from today to your retirement date to the service credit you enter, one year per year. Vested-deferred Tier 6 members get no added service.

    Our assumption (see below)
  3. 3

    Find your pension factor

    From your years of service and your tier's brackets. For Tiers 1-2 we apply the cut for service under 20 years and the 75% cap (79% with Article 19 credit).

    Handbook pp. 16, 28; Actuarial Valuation 2024, App. 19, pp. 83-84 (1⅔% = 1/60 per year)
  4. 4

    Check eligibility

    Your age and service on the retirement date against your tier's earliest-retirement rule.

    Handbook pp. 16, 25
  5. 5

    Apply the age factor

    If you don't meet your tier's no-age-factor rule, we count the full months between your retirement date and the full-benefit age and apply your tier's age factor.

    Handbook p. 28 (percent prorated by month); Actuarial Valuation 2024, App. 19, p. 83
  6. 6

    Work out the pension

    Pension factor × age factor × the FAS you enter = the Maximum yearly benefit, paid in 12 monthly payments.

    N.Y. Educ. Law § 501(12)-(14); Handbook p. 28

The rules behind each step are laid out in plain English on which tier am I, the pension formula and age factor tables, and retiring early. Try them on your own dates in the calculator.

What the calculator doesn't cover

Assumptions you should know

The "work longer" comparison keeps your FAS the same. Service grows by one year per year until your retirement date. Ages are counted in full months, as NYSTRS's regulations do for the age factor.

How we check the math

The calculator runs on a small engine that reads every rule from one data file, with a source for each rule. Automated tests check it against the worked examples NYSTRS prints, and against about 30 cells of NYSTRS's Benefit Comparison Table. They run every time the site is built.

How we check the math (New York NYSTRS)
NYSTRS exampleNYSTRS showsOur engineSource
Tier 4, 19 years at 55: 19 x 1.67% x 73%23.1%23.1%Handbook p. 28 Match
Tier 4, 20 years at 56: 40% x 76%30.4%30.4%Handbook p. 28 Match
Tier 4, 29 years at 55: 58% x 73%42.3%42.3%Handbook p. 28 Match
Tier 5, 24 years at 57: 40% x 71.67%28.67%28.67%Handbook p. 30 Match
Tier 5, 29 years at 57: 58% x 71.67%41.57%41.57%Handbook p. 30 Match
Tier 6, 30 years at 55: 55% x 48%26.4%26.4%Tier 6 deck (2023) slide 29 Match
Tier 6, 23 years at 55 and 1 month19.9%19.9%Tier 6 deck (2023) slide 30 Match
Tier 2, 15 years at 62: 30% cut 25% for service under 2022.5%22.5%Handbook p. 32 Match
Eddie, Tier 4, at 55 (a year)$33,025$33,025Handbook p. 42 Match
Eddie, Tier 4, at 56 (a year)$48,000$48,000Handbook p. 42 Match
Tier 6, 31 years at 63 (a year)$57,000$57,000Tier 6 deck (2023) slide 30 Match
COLA from a 3.6% CPI increase1.8%, $27/mo1.8%, $27/moRetired Members' Handbook p. 4 Match

Things to check with NYSTRS

NYSTRS's publications don't settle these points. Each is labeled where it shows up on the site.

Check with NYSTRS

The handbook says the in-service death benefit (Paragraph 2) starts dropping 4% a year at age 62 (Tier 6: 63). NYSTRS's 2024 actuarial report says the cut starts after age 60. NYSTRS's Benefit Profile also shows a salary limit that changed in 2026.

We show the handbook's ages (62, or 63 for Tier 6) and don't compute a death benefit amount.

Handbook p. 35; Actuarial Valuation 2024, App. 19, p. 84
Check with NYSTRS

NYSTRS's Tier 2 sources give the age factor only in whole years (73% at 55 up to 100% at 62). They don't say whether it is prorated month by month, as it is for Tiers 3 and 4.

We prorate the Tier 2 age factor by month, the same way the handbook does for Tiers 3 and 4.

Handbook pp. 25, 28; Actuarial Valuation 2024, App. 19, p. 83
Check with NYSTRS

Tier 1 members who joined before July 1, 1970 are 'generally' under an older Non-Contributory Plan with a different formula. The sources don't say exactly who stays under it.

We compute the Tier 1 Career Plan (2% a year) for everyone in Tier 1 and add a note if you joined before July 1, 1970.

Actuarial Valuation 2024, App. 19, p. 82
Check with NYSTRS

Tier 3 members can be paid under Tier 3's own law (Article 14) or under Tier 4's (Article 15). The Article 14 amount depends on your Social Security benefit, which we don't know.

We compute the Tier 4 (Article 15) amount, which the handbook says is better in all but a small number of cases. NYSTRS pays the better one automatically when it's clear.

Handbook p. 29
Check with NYSTRS

NYSTRS doesn't publish the factors it uses to turn the Maximum into an option amount. They depend on your age and your beneficiary's age.

We explain each option in words and show no option dollar amounts. Get your numbers from the MyNYSTRS Pension Estimator or a NYSTRS benefit estimate.

Maximum or an Option p. 4
Check with NYSTRS

Tier 6 pay above the New York governor's salary doesn't count toward your pension. The newest figure in our sources is $250,000, as of June 30, 2024.

We don't cap the salary you enter. If you're a Tier 6 member earning near that level, check the current limit with NYSTRS.

Handbook p. 26; Actuarial Valuation 2024, App. 19, p. 81
Check with NYSTRS

NYSTRS publications say your pension generally isn't reduced by Social Security and isn't subject to Social Security tax. They don't say whether your teaching job also pays into Social Security.

We don't say whether your teaching service earns Social Security. Your Social Security statement (ssa.gov) shows the earnings it counts.

Handbook pp. 29, 45

Where sources disagreed

Older NYSTRS documents sometimes predate a law change. Here is what we followed.

Sources

Handbook page numbers are the printed page numbers. Last reviewed Nov. 12, 2026.

Found a mistake?Email [email protected] with the page, what you entered, and what NYSTRS told you. We fix confirmed errors and note the change.
The official numbersOnly NYSTRS can tell you your actual benefit. Use MyNYSTRS or call NYSTRS at 800-348-7298.

Source: NYSTRS Active Members' Handbook, Updated October 2026, pp. 7, 16, 25, 26, 28, 29, 35, 45. Also: Compilation of Laws 2026 Introduction; Our assumption; Actuarial Valuation 2024 App. 19, pp. 81, 82, 83, 84; N.Y. Educ. Law; Maximum or an Option p. 4. Last reviewed .