Overview

Your annual invoice is provided at the beginning of November. If you have the Billing Security Role, we notify you when your invoice is available in Retirement Online.

Payment of your annual invoice is due by February 1, 2025. Since February 1, 2025 falls on a Saturday, we will consider the following on time and not subject to a late fee:

• ACH or wire transfer payments received on or before February 3, 2025.
• Checks sent by certified mail and postmarked on or before February 3, 2025.
• Checks not sent by certified mail and received on or before February 3, 2025.

If your payment is not received on time, we will charge late payment interest at a rate of 5.9 percent.

You can choose to pay the discounted prepayment amount by December 15, 2024. Since December 15, 2024 falls on a Sunday, we will consider the following on time and eligible for the discount:

• ACH or wire transfer payments received on or before December 16, 2024.
• Checks sent by certified mail and postmarked on or before December 16, 2024.
• Checks not sent by certified mail and received on or before December 16, 2024.

Payments received after December 16, 2024 must be for the full amount due by February 3, 2025.

Viewing Your Annual Invoice

• Sign in to Retirement Online.
• From Account Homepage, click Access Billing Dashboard button.
• After choosing location code and retirement system (ERS or PFRS), click Annual Invoice link.

Your current annual invoice will remain available in Retirement Online until next summer when we release your estimate for the invoice due in 2026. At that time, your current annual invoice will move to your previous years’ invoices. You can view past invoices going back to 2013 by selecting Previous Years’ Annual Invoices on the Billing Dashboard.

Only employees with the Billing Security Role are able to access the Billing Dashboard. Your Security Administrator assigns the Billing Security Role to contacts who need to view billing information.

Retirement Online works best when viewed with Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. If you use a different browser, your information may not display properly or you may experience other problems.

Understanding Your Annual Invoice

Your annual invoice is based on the employee earnings and days worked reported to NYSLRS by your organization during the State fiscal year, April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024. You can review the Fiscal Year Earnings used to calculate your invoice in Retirement Online under Billed Data.

Plan ID and Options

The Plan ID refers to the NYSLRS retirement plan. Options are “extra” benefits (beyond those offered in the standard plans), which you chose to provide to your employees. For example, options 41J and 341J refer to Sections 41(j) and 341(j) of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL), which allow members to receive additional service credit for their unused, unpaid sick leave at retirement.

Rates

Rates, often referred to as employer contribution rates, are determined annually to ensure proper funding for the Common Retirement Fund—which pays for your employees’ retirement benefits. Rates for each retirement system are broken down by tier, plan and option.

• 2025 Rates for the Employees’ Retirement System
• 2025 Rates for the Police and Fire Retirement System

Regular Pension Contribution

The Regular Pension Contribution is calculated by multiplying the employee’s salary by the rate for the plan and options.

Group Term Life Insurance (GTLI)

The cost of GTLI, which provides ordinary death benefits for your employees, is listed separate from the Regular Pension Contribution because it is excluded from the calculation of the amount to amortize.

Adjustments and Installments

Adjustments represent charges or credits associated with the current or prior fiscal years.

• Adjustments to earnings for the State fiscal year ending March 31, 2024 must have been submitted by May 31 to be included in your invoice. Corrections submitted after May 31 may not have been received in time and may appear on next year’s invoice.
• Adjustments to earnings for previous fiscal years, known as Prior Years’ Adjustments, must have been submitted by March 31 to be included in your invoice.

Installments include amortization payments, past service costs and deficiency contributions.

Divide-by Factor

This represents the 45 days of interest you will save if you pay your annual invoice by December 16, 2024, instead of February 3, 2025. The amount changes with the interest rate.

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When Graded Payments are Required or When You Can Amortize

The Contribution Stabilization Program (CSP) and Alternate Contribution Stabilization Program are optional programs, which reduce volatility in employer billing rates and required contributions year over year.

The programs established a graded contribution rate system. Each year, NYSLRS (the System) establishes graded rates. As the System average rate trends upward or downward, the System graded rate follows.

• Under the CSP, the System graded rate may change by up to 1 percent.
• Under the Alternate Program, the graded rate may change by up to 0.5 percent.

NYSLRS uses the System average rate and System graded rate to determine an employer’s graded rate. Then, the employer’s graded rate is compared to their normal annual contribution rate to determine whether they are required to make a graded payment or eligible to amortize.

When the employer’s normal annual contribution rate is lower than their graded rate, the employer is required to make a graded payment to offset future increases in their graded rate. In this circumstance, your invoice provides the required Employer Graded Payment under the Adjustments section. This payment is applied to any outstanding amortizations (oldest to newest) and any remaining funds are deposited into your Reserve Fund, which earns interest.

When the employer’s normal annual contribution rate is higher than their graded rate, the employer is eligible to amortize a portion of their invoice. In this circumstance, your invoice provides the maximum amount you may amortize, which is the difference between your normal annual contribution rate and your graded rate, less the amount of your Reserve Fund, which is automatically applied as if you had amortized that amount. The amount applied reduces your total amount due and appears on your invoice as a CSP Chap 57 Reserve Fund Credit. If your Reserve Fund balance was more than the amount applied, you will have money left over in your Reserve Fund.

Note: To view your updated Reserve Fund balance, click the Reserve Fund Balance link on the Billing Dashboard. Your invoice does not provide this information.

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Paying Your Annual Invoice

You can pay your invoice by automated clearinghouse (ACH), wire transfer or paper check.

Notify NYSLRS Billing Before Paying

Regardless of which payment method you choose, before making your payment, you must email [email protected] the following information:

• Employer name
• Employer location code
• Retirement system (ERS or PFRS)
• Payment amount
• Date of payment

Pay by ACH or Wire Transfer

• ACH and wire transfers are both secure, electronic ways to transfer funds and more reliable than mailing a check. However, payments made by ACH are less costly than wiring money.
• You must set up the ACH or wire transfer payment directly with your bank or a money transfer provider.
• The ABA routing number and account information you need to set up your payment is at the bottom of your invoice.
• If paying by wire transfer, you must include your employer location code and the retirement system (ERS or PFRS) in the Wire Description.
• The close of business for ACH and wire transfer payments is 3:00 pm. Payments received after 3:00 pm will be credited on the next business day.
• An ACH or wire transfer payment can take up to 2 business days to process. It’s important to check with your bank or wire transfer provider on the timing if you’re not familiar with the process.

Pay by Paper Check

• Make the check payable to the New York State and Local Retirement System.
• Fill out the payment slip provided with your invoice and include the following information:
  • Employer name
  • Employer location code
  • Retirement system (ERS or PFRS)
  • Payment amount
  • Date of payment
• Mail the check and payment slip to:

Attn: Remittance/Billing
NYSLRS
110 State St 2^nd Floor
Albany, NY 12244-0001

• If you use certified mail, we will use the date it was mailed (postmarked) as the receipt date for your payment. 
• If you don’t use certified mail, we will use the date we receive it as the receipt date for your payment.

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If You Need Help

If you have questions about your annual invoice or for help accessing Retirement Online, use our help desk form (select Employer Billing or Retirement Online Troubleshooting from the dropdown).

You can also call 866-805-0990 (press 1 to access the employer menu, then follow the prompts).

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Rev. 11/24