Colleagues,
A message from Fred Kowal…
After months (and actually years…) of lobbying and pressuring policy makers (and others) to include UUP members of Tier 6 in any “fix,” I can report that we have won a great victory for our members in Tier 6.
Though we don’t yet have a budget agreement, we have been informed that that agreement will include the following which impacts over thousands of UUP members:
For those in the NYSERS/NYCERS retirement programs, the contribution bands have been altered to reduce the amount individuals have to contribute, as follows for specific income levels. This translates to more money in our pockets once the changes go into effect.
- $75k or less: 3%
- $75k – $100k: 4%
- $100k – $125k: 5.25%
- $125k or more: 5.75%
For members in the SUNY and CUNY Optional Retirement Program (ORP), contribution bands will be adjusted to align with changes in the other retirement systems, and members will receive an additional 1% state contribution to their ORP accounts. This also means less money coming out of our paychecks to fund our retirement programs.
We will provide more information on this — and on all elements of a final budget — once we have one. Hopefully, that will happen in the next few days. Stay tuned…
For now, know this: If it was not for UUP’s tireless advocacy for our members, we would NOT have gotten this victory. If we had not insisted that ANY reform of Tier 6 had to include our ORP participants, it would simply not have happened. This is what Solidarity looks like!
If you do not know what NYS Retirement Tier you are in, please refer to the NYS Comptrollers page on “What Tier Are You In?“
Fred Kowal
UUP Statewide President
Best,
Kathleen Kielar
Chapter President
UUP Buffalo Center