Mandatory members are required to join NYSLRS.

Beginning July 27, 1976, membership is mandatory for:

• Employees who work in full-time, permanent 12-month ERS positions. They must also earn at least the New York State’s minimum wage. The date of membership is the date of full-time, permanent appointment.
• Employees who are eligible to join PFRS (both full-time and part time police officers and firefighters).

Before July 27, 1976, membership was mandatory for:

• Jobs with competitive classification. The date of membership is the date of permanent appointment.
• Jobs with non-competitive classification. The date of membership is the date of hire.

Minimum earnings for mandatory membership in Tiers 1 and 2 were required. Before April 1, 1967, the member had to earn at least $1,000. On or after April 1, 1967, the member had to earn at least $1,500.

Employer Failure to Enroll Employee in NYSLRS

If you fail to enroll an employee who is required to join NYSLRS, their membership date (and tier) will be retroactive to the date the membership became mandatory.

Failure to enroll mandatory members has consequences for the employee, and for you as the employer.

Member Must Purchase Service

For members who are in a contributory retirement plan, they will be required to purchase this service credit, including interest, to avoid a reduction in their retirement benefit.

Reports will need to be submitted using Retirement Online for all unreported service and salary from the date of membership to the date you first began reporting the member on your monthly reports.

Once these reports are posted to the member’s account, we will calculate any mandatory service credit purchase amount (deficiency contributions) due and instruct you to begin deducting payments from the member’s earnings. We will also notify the member that deductions will begin.

You Will Be Charged on Annual Invoice

You will receive a prior year’s billing adjustment (including interest) for the earnings included on the reports.

Enrolling PFRS Members Under Sections 384, 384-d and 384-e

PFRS members who are enrolled on or after January 1, 2015 are automatically covered under Section 384-d if their employer offers the plan.

If you are enrolling a new member of PFRS who is not covered under 384-d and who intends to elect coverage in either a 25-year retirement plan or a 20-year retirement plan, your employee only has one year to do so. The election forms for both the 25-year and 20-year retirement plans are available in the Special Retirement Plans section of our Forms page.

To choose a different special plan, a member must withdraw from the 384-d plan and elect another special plan within one year of appointment.

Rev. 12/23