When you use enhanced reporting, you not only report data on employees who are enrolled NYSLRS members, you also report data for:
- Employees who are eligible for membership, but chose not to join NYSLRS;
- Retirees (from any of the eight public retirement systems in New York State) working for you under Sections 211 or 212 of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL); and
- Public retirees you have hired as contractors or consultants, as their earnings count toward their post-retirement earnings limit.
Reporting data for employees who have not joined NYSLRS means we will already have it on hand if they choose to join at a later date, saving you considerable time and effort in the future.
Employers report data for retirees so we can monitor their post-retirement earnings.
Do not report contractors or consultants working for you. They are not public employees and are not eligible to join NYSLRS. To determine whether someone is an employee or a contractor/consultant, please refer to our Independent Contractor vs. Employee page. Public retirees who are working for you as a contractor or consultant, however, should be reported.
You should not report employees who have joined an alternative retirement benefit program, such as the Voluntary Defined Contribution Plan (VDC). New employees who are eligible for the VDC and wish to join must file an election to join the VDC within 30 days of hire, and you must provide NYSLRS with documentation confirming that the employee has joined the VDC.
Employees who meet the criteria for mandatory NYSLRS membership cannot join the VDC once 30 days have passed. If the employee does not elect the VDC and they meet the criteria for mandatory NYSLRS membership, or if membership is optional and they decide to join NYSLRS instead of the VDC, remember to enroll them into NYSLRS and add their name to your monthly report. You will also need to report their earnings and days worked back to their date of membership – their first date of employment if their membership is mandatory, or the date they joined NYSLRS if their membership is optional. The employee will need to pay contributions for this reported service.
If your employee is already a member of NYSLRS, they will not be able to join VDC when promoted to a new position, regardless of whether the promotion is the first time they meet VDC eligibility requirements.
Rev. 2/23