Get Credit for All Your Public Service
Service credit is one of the major factors in calculating your pension benefit. It also impacts eligibility for death benefits and loans.
You earn service credit for your paid employment with a public employer in New York State.
You may also be able to request additional service credit for:
Previous or Prior Service:
- If you worked for a participating employer before joining NYSLRS (examples of participating employers include New York State agencies, cities, counties, towns and villages).
- If you worked for a public employer that later participated in NYSLRS.
Military Service:
- If you served in the U.S. Armed Forces and received an honorable discharge from active military duty.
Or you may be able to:
Transfer Service:
- If you are still a member of another New York State or a New York City public retirement system.
Reinstate Service:
- If you withdrew your membership in NYSLRS or another New York State public retirement system.*
*Certain public employees may be eligible to participate in an optional defined contribution retirement plan, such as the SUNY Optional Retirement Program (ORP) or New York State’s Voluntary Defined Contribution program (VDC). These are not considered public retirement systems, and members who participated in these programs cannot receive credit in NYSLRS for this service.
Previous or Prior Service
In most cases, you have to pay for the additional service. But because service credit is a factor in the calculation of your retirement benefits, purchasing the additional service credit will usually increase your pension.*
If you choose to purchase the additional service, you should submit your request as early in your career as possible. Records we need to verify your service will be more readily available. And the sooner you purchase your credit, the less it will generally cost, and it allows you time to pay for the credit, if necessary. We must receive your request for previous service credit before your date of retirement.
Read Service Credit for Tier 2 – 6 Members to learn more about different types of previous or prior public employment, how to determine whether purchasing service will benefit you and your options for payment.
*There are certain situations where additional service credit may not increase your pension. For example, some special retirement plans provide a pension benefit after 20 or 25 years of service, but not all types of public employment count toward the 20 or 25 years in these plans. Find Your NYSLRS Retirement Plan Publication for specific information about how service credit will affect your benefits and, if you are in a special plan, which public employment counts toward your retirement benefits.
Military Service
Several sections of the law allow credit for military service. Once we receive your request, we will determine which section of law applies to your service and would provide the highest pension benefit.
In most cases, you have to pay for military service. But because service credit is a factor in the calculation of your retirement benefit, purchasing the military service credit will usually increase your pension. The cost to purchase military service is based on your earnings, so the sooner you purchase it, the less it will generally cost.
Visit our Military Service Credit page for more information about eligibility, the cost and how to apply.
Requesting Additional Service
To request credit for additional service:
- Sign in to your Retirement Online account.
- Click Manage My Service Credit Purchases button.
- Click Request Additional Service Credit link.
Previous or Prior Service Credit
- Enter the name of the employer and the approximate dates you worked there.
- Upload any proof you may have of your previous or prior service. We will reach out to your former employer, but you may be able to expedite the process by providing payroll records, such as W-2 forms or pay stubs, when you apply.
Military Service Credit
- Enter the branch of military in the field for employer and the dates of your service.
- Upload a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214) or an official document showing the dates of active duty service, the branch of military and the type of discharge.
Next Steps
We’ll determine whether you’re eligible to purchase additional service credit and let you know how much it would cost.
Transferring Service
When new members join NYSLRS, they are in Tier 6. Some members are also still members of another public retirement system in New York State. If this applies to you, you may be eligible to transfer that membership to NYSLRS.
Visit our Transfers page for a list of public retirement systems you can transfer from and how to apply.
Reinstating Service
If you previously were a member of NYSLRS, or another public retirement system in New York State, and that membership was terminated, you may be able to reinstate that membership (and tier, if applicable) and receive credit for that service.
Visit our Tier Reinstatement page for more information and how to apply.
Rev. 9/24