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New York State and Local Retirement System

Preparing for Retirement

Part One: Information is the Key

Speaker one:
If you’re thinking about retirement, you’re thinking about a lot of important questions.
But concentrating on just three things will prove invaluable as you begin the retirement process.
One:
Know and understand the benefits your retirement plan offers you.
Two:
Know where to find and how to get the information you’ll need to make good decisions.
Three:
Know what you have to do and when you have to do it.
Keep these three things in mind and when you actually do file your retirement application, you can be confident the entire process will go smoothly and you'll receive all the benefits you're entitled to.
Speaker two:
And please rest assured that we at the Retirement System are here to serve you, answer any questions you have and help solve any problems you may encounter along the way.
The most important thing you can do to ensure a successful retirement is to educate yourself on your retirement plan, the benefits it provides and the retirement process. You can do this by reading your plan booklet, which is available from your employer, our website, or by contacting our Call Center.
Your plan booklet provides a wealth of information on service and disability retirement benefits, your death benefit coverage and gives you examples of how these benefits are calculated.
If you don’t know what plan your covered by, check your latest Member Statement or with your employer.
Speaker one:
Another excellent source of information is your Member Statement. This personalized document shows your contribution and loan balances, your service and salary data, and it also projects your retirement benefits to give you an idea of how much your pension will be.
You can also visit our website for lots of information on how to plan for retirement.
You'll find forms you can download plus booklets, slideshows and videos covering a variety of retirement topics.
Speaker two:
But the most popular feature on our website is the benefit projection calculator. It’s a great tool for retirement planning because it allows you to enter different retirement dates, final average salaries and service credit totals. You’ll get a good idea of what your pension will be based on the data you enter.
Speaker one:
Of course, you can always meet with a Retirement Information Representative. In Albany, Reps are available every business day or on scheduled days at 15 other sites. You can find the schedule on our website or in our semi-annual newsletters, The Update for ERS members and The Sentinel for Police and Fire members.
Speaker two:
You can also contact our Call Center for specific information. Agents are available from eight in the morning to four thirty in the afternoon and they'll be happy to assist you.
Speaker one:
We can’t stress enough the fact that we are here to help you as you begin this process.
Speaker two:
So please be sure to contact us with any questions or comments you may have.

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