Members of the New York State Employees' Retirement System in Tier 6 to pay lower employee contributions for retirement

 

Effective October 1, 2026, Tier 6 member employee contribution rates are as follows:   Earnings Current Contribution Rate New Contribution Rate $45,000 or less 3.00% 3.00% $45,000.01 to $55,000 3.50% 3.00% $55,000.01 to $75,000 4.50% 3.00% $75,000.01 to $100,000 5.75% 4.00% $100,000.01 to $125,000 6.00% 5.25% $125,000.01 to $250,000 6.00% 5.75% The Tier 6  member's contribution rate is determined by the member's annual earnings as the  new law reduced the member's "employee's required contribution rates". This means most Tier 6 members will pay less from their earnings towards their employee's retirement contributions. Increased Overtime Limits for Tier 5 and 6 Members For members of Tiers 5 and 6, the law limits the amount of overtime pay included in the calculation of the member's final average earnings (FAE), which is used to determine the member's NYSLRS pension. Overtime pay above the limit is not factored into the members pension. However, the law increased the annual overtime limits, allowing more overtime pay to be included in the calculation of your pension benefit. Effective January 1, 2027: For ERS Tier 5 and 6 members, the overtime limit for 2027 is $30,000 and increases by 3% each calendar year thereafter. Currently, the limit for 2026 is $24,070.60 for Tier 5 and $21,589 for Tier 6. For PFRS Tier 5 and 6 members, the annual overtime limit is 25% of your pensionable, non-overtime earnings. Currently, the annual limit is 15%.   New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli also reported that the new laws continue to improve Tier 6 Benefits. For more information, including additional laws affecting NYSLRS benefits, click the following URL 2026 Laws page.