Member Annual Statements are distributed to NYSLRS members each spring. Don’t wait for a mailed copy — get your Statement online instead! You can update your delivery preference in Retirement Online to receive an email when your Statement is available.
From your Account Homepage, click “update” next to ‘Member Annual Statement by.’
Choose “Email” from the dropdown.
Check and Update Your Contact Information
Retirement Online is the fastest way to check your contact information and update it if needed. If you don’t already have an email address on file, please provide it so that we can contact you quickly if we need to notify you about important information such as a change to your benefits. Use a personal email address you will have access to before and after you retire, rather than a work email address. You should also make sure your mailing address and phone number are current.
To update your contact information, click “update” next to your email address, mailing address or phone number to make corrections.
Use Retirement Online to Stay Informed
Your annual Statement is a snapshot of your NYSLRS account as of March 31. For the most up-to-date information year-round, sign in to your Retirement Online account.
In Retirement Online, you can view your date of membership, tier, retirement plan, estimated total service credit and more. Check out what else members can do in Retirement Online.
When it comes to managing your NYSLRS account, Retirement Online is the fastest way to do it. Skip printing forms, having them notarized and sending them through the mail — when you submit your requests online, NYSLRS has them immediately and your changes will be completed more quickly. It’s convenient, and it’s secure.
Here’s a look at some of the things NYSLRS members (not yet retired) can do online.
View Your Account Information
Sign in to Retirement Online for easy access to key information to help you plan for retirement. On your Account Homepage, you can find your date of membership, tier, retirement plan (which you can use to find your retirement plan publication), estimated total service credit and more.
Change Your Delivery Preference to Email and Help Us ‘Go Green’
Save time and reduce paper waste — help us ‘go green’ by choosing the paperless option. When you choose to receive information from NYSLRS electronically, we will send you an email when important documents and letters are ready to view in Retirement Online.
From your Account Homepage, click the “update” link next to ‘Contact by’ or ‘Member Annual Statement by.’
Choose “Email” from the dropdown menu.
If you choose “Email” as your delivery preference, you will not receive a printed copy in the mail.
Update Your Contact Information
It’s important that we have your current contact information so you receive the news, letters and statements that we send you. You can update your email address, mailing address and phone number in the ‘My Profile Information’ section of your Account Homepage. Just click “update” next to the item you’d like to change. Use a personal email address that you will have access to before and after you retire, rather than a work email address.
View and Update Your Beneficiary
NYSLRS retirement plans provide death benefits for beneficiaries of eligible members who die before retiring. It’s a good idea to review your beneficiaries from time to time to make sure your choices reflect your current wishes. Retirement Online is the fastest way to add or remove beneficiaries or update their contact information. Click the “View and Update My Beneficiaries” button to get started.
Estimate Your Pension
How much will your pension be? It’s an important question as you’re planning for retirement. In just a few steps, most members can estimate their retirement benefit based on up-to-date account information, then save or print the estimate. Entering different dates and comparing the results can help you choose the retirement date that’s right for you. From your Account Homepage, click the “Estimate my Pension Benefit” button.
Apply for a Loan and Manage Loan Payments
It’s easy to apply for a loan in Retirement Online. If you are eligible to take a loan against your retirement contributions, you can see how much you can borrow, your repayment options and whether your loan will be taxable — all before you apply. Click the “Apply for a Loan” button to start an application.
If you have an existing loan, you can click the “Manage My Loans” button to adjust your payment amount or to make an additional one-time payment.
Request Credit for Previous Service
If you worked for a participating public employer before joining NYSLRS, or if you served in the U.S. Armed Forces, you may be able to purchase service credit for that time. Click the “Manage My Service Credit Purchases” button to request credit and upload any supporting documentation.
Purchase previous service credit as soon as possible. It’s cheaper and will make it easier to calculate your final monthly pension payment.
Get Your Member Annual Statement Faster
Your Member Annual Statement can help you understand your benefits. It’s a snapshot of your NYSLRS account based on the information we have on file for you as of March 31 each year, the close of our fiscal year. Statements will be available online in the spring, sooner than printed copies will be mailed — update your delivery preference to “Email” to get notified when it’s available online.
Generate a Mortgage Verification Letter
If you need to provide proof of your NYSLRS account information for a mortgage, you can get your own income verification letter online. From your Account Homepage, in the ‘I want to…’ section at the top right, click the “Generate Income Verification Letter” link. You can print a document that shows your contribution balance, and — if you have an outstanding loan — the date of your last loan, the current balance and the interest rate.
Apply for Retirement
When you are ready to retire, Retirement Online allows you to skip the hassle of mailing paper forms or visiting our office. You can apply for a service retirement benefit, choose your pension payment option, sign up for direct deposit and submit retirement-related paperwork online. A big advantage of applying online is that you don’t have to get anything notarized. Read our blog post about applying for retirement for more information and links to resources.
Other Online Transactions
If you previously were a member of another New York State public retirement system before joining NYSLRS, your service could be recredited and your date of membership and tier restored. You can click the “Reinstate a Previous Membership” button to get started.
If you leave public employment with less than ten years of service credit, you can use Retirement Online to withdraw your membership. However, this will terminate your membership with NYSLRS. If you have any questions, speak with a customer service representative before you submit your withdrawal application. You can message them using our secure contact form.
More than 480,000 members and retirees have discovered that Retirement Online is the fastest way to do business with NYSLRS. It’s secure and convenient, and helps you avoid calling or mailing forms. It also gives you instant access to information about your benefits. And, your important documents will be available online, sooner than printed copies are mailed.
Retirees Can Do Even More in Retirement Online
The Fastest Way to Get Your 1099-R Tax Document
With Retirement Online, you can get the tax information you need faster. If you receive a taxable benefit from NYSLRS, your 1099-R is now available online. Sign in to view, save or print your tax form for 2023.
View Your Retiree Annual Statement Online
Your Retiree Annual Statement provides important information about your benefit amount, deductions and tax withholding. Beginning with your 2023 Statement, you can now access it in Retirement Online.
Make the Switch to Email and ‘Go Green’
Be the first to know when documents are available online — email delivery gives you access to your important documents sooner. It also helps the environment by reducing paper consumption. ‘Go green’ by choosing the paperless option.
It’s easy to make the switch. To receive an email when your 1099-R tax form and Retiree Annual Statement are available in Retirement Online next year:
From your Account Homepage, click the “update” link next to ‘1099-R Tax Form Delivery by’ or ‘Retiree Annual Statement by.’
Choose “Email” from the dropdown.
Be sure to check that the email address listed in your Retirement Online profile is current.
If you choose the email delivery preference, you will not receive a printed copy in the mail.
Don’t Forget These Timesaving Features
Change Your Federal Tax Withholding
No forms needed — Retirement Online is the fastest way to update your withholding. If you submit your changes by the middle of the month, they will generally be applied to that month’s payment.
Generate a Pension Verification Letter
There are organizations that may ask you for a letter verifying your pension income — maybe for housing or as part of an application for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). You can use Retirement Online to save or print your own letter any time you need one.
Manage Your Direct Deposit
Use Retirement Online to securely update your direct deposit bank account information. Whether you’ve switched banks or need to move your deposits to a different account, you can make those changes quickly with Retirement Online. Changes are generally applied within one to two payments, and more quickly than if you send in a paper form.
View Your Pension Pay Stubs
You can access pay stubs for your benefit payments by clicking the date of the payment you want to view. You can track year-to-date totals and any deductions for health insurance, union dues, tax withholding or disbursements under a domestic relations order, giving you greater insight into your benefits. NYSLRS will also send you a notice whenever the amount of your monthly payment changes.
Update Your Contact Information
Let us know if you move or your phone number or email address change. Update your contact information quickly in Retirement Online to make sure you continue to receive important news and information about your benefits.
You can even schedule an address change, so you’ll get NYSLRS mail at your seasonal home without interruption.
Manage Your Beneficiaries
Eligible retirees can change their beneficiary for their post-retirement death benefit or update contact information for an existing beneficiary.
Your Member Annual Statement is a snapshot of your NYSLRS account with information about your NYSLRS membership and benefits. It is based on the information we have on file for you as of March 31, 2023, the end of our fiscal year.
You can view your 2023 Statement now by signing into Retirement Online. From your Retirement Online Account Homepage, go to the ‘My Account Summary’ area, click the “View My Member Annual Statement” button and follow the steps to view, print or save your Statement. Don’t have an account? Register today. If you need help signing in to your account, these tools and tips will come in handy.
Delivery of Your Member Annual Statement
If you chose email delivery of your Statement, you should receive an email informing you that your Statement is ready to be viewed in Retirement Online. All other members will receive their 2023 Statement by mail before the end of June.
Get Up-to-Date Account Information Year Round
Your Member Annual Statement provides information as of March 31, 2023, but with Retirement Online you can access up-to-date information about your retirement account year-round. Sign in to see the date you joined NYSLRS, your tier, your retirement plan and your current total estimated service credit. Retirement Online is also the fast, easy way to conduct business securely with NYSLRS. Here are some of the things you can do:
Pension Estimates: Most members can create customized benefit estimates and calculate their pension payment options using Retirement Online. From your Account Homepage, scroll down to ‘My Account Summary’ and click the “Estimate my Pension Benefit” button. You can base your estimate on the salary and service information we have on file or adjust your earnings or service credit to account for possible increases in earnings or service credit purchases. By entering different retirement dates and beneficiaries, you will see how your choices affect your potential benefit. If you are not able to use the Retirement Online calculator, contact us for an estimate.
Employment History: You can view your recent employment history and reported earnings for the past five years in Retirement Online. From your Account Homepage, scroll down to ‘My Account Summary’ and click the “View My Recent Employment Summary” button. Think you may be eligible for past service that’s not included in your employment history? You can request to purchase service credit by returning to ‘My Account Summary’ and clicking the “Manage My Service Credit Purchases” button.
Contact Information Change: Did you move or change your email address recently? On your Account Homepage, in the ‘My Profile Information’ section, you can update your address and other contact information.
Update Your Delivery Preference for Next Year
Want to be notified by email next year when your Statement is ready? Sign in to Retirement Online to change your Statement delivery preference. Go to the ‘My Profile Information’ section on your Account Homepage, click “update” next to ‘Member Annual Statement By,’ then choose “email” from the dropdown menu.
Have Questions About Your Member Annual Statement?
Visit our Member Annual Statement page for answers to common questions or to find out how to correct any errors.
Reminder for retirees: Retiree Annual Statements were mailed at the end of February and are not yet available online.
There are a few things you should do regarding your NYSLRS benefits after you retire. This way, wherever your retirement takes you, we can continue to provide you with the benefits and services available to our retirees.
Sign Up for Retirement Online
If you don’t already have a Retirement Online account, this is a great time to sign up. Retirement Online provides a secure and convenient way to check important NYSLRS information, like the deductions from your latest payment and a summary of your benefits. You can also view or update beneficiary information and generate pension income verification letters right from your computer. We’ll be adding additional online features for retirees in the near future, so stay tuned.
Have New Contact Information? Let Us Know
If you move after you retire, let NYSLRS know your new address so you can be sure to get important communications about your benefits.
The Post Office usually won’t forward pension checks to another address. If you haven’t already, you can sign up for our direct deposit program. It’s the safe, hassle-free way to receive your monthly benefit. But there are other things you’ll want to receive from us after you retire, such as:
Your 1099-R form. Your pension isn’t taxed by New York State, but it is subject to federal income tax.
Your Retiree Annual Statement. It’s a helpful reference that spells out the benefits, credits and deductions you receive each year.
Any official notifications such as a net change in your benefits.
There are several ways to update your address. The fastest way is through Retirement Online. Or, you can complete our secure contact form for street addresses within the United States. Be sure to fill out the entire contact form and provide both your old and new addresses.
You should also make sure we have your current email address. Having an email address on file means we can contact you quickly if we need to notify you about an update to your NYSLRS benefits. If you haven’t updated your email address with NYSLRS, update it in Retirement Online, send it to us using the secure email form or send it to us with your Change of Address Form (RS5512).
Keep Your Beneficiary Information Current
Reviewing your beneficiary designations periodically is important. By keeping them up to date, you ensure that any post-retirement death benefit will be distributed to your loved ones according to your wishes. You can use Retirement Online to change your death benefit beneficiaries at any time, or contact our Call Center and we will send you the necessary form.
Read Our Guide for Retirees
Check out our publication, Life Changes: A Guide for Retirees (VO1705), for information about other benefits you may be entitled to and the services we offer after you retire.
Retirees should make sure their mailing address is current before the end of 2022 in order to receive important information from NYSLRS in the coming year. We’ll be mailing 1099-R tax documents in late January and Retiree Annual Statements in February.
Remember, if you file an address change order with the Post Office, they will only forward your mail for a limited time.
If you don’t already have an email address on file, please provide one so we can contact you quickly if we need to notify you about important information such as a change to your benefits. Make sure the email address you use is a personal email address that you have access to when you are retired (rather than a work email address) and remember to keep it up to date.
You can also choose to have account updates sent to you electronically instead of by mail. From your Account Homepage, click the “Update” link next to ‘Contact by’ and select Email as your correspondence preference. When there’s an update to your account, NYSLRS will send you an email to let you know you can sign in to Retirement Online to view it.
Check and Update Your Contact Information With Retirement Online
Retirement Online is the fast and convenient way to check your mailing address, phone number and email address, and update them if needed. If you don’t already have an account, go to the Sign In page and click “Sign Up” under the ‘Customer Sign In’ button. (Need help with Retirement Online? See this post for handy tips.)
Other Ways to Update Your Mailing Address
There are other ways to update the mailing address we have on file for you.
By Email If your new address is not a PO box or international address, you can email your address change information using the secure contact form on our website. Be sure to complete all form fields and provide your old and new addresses.
By Phone For street addresses within the United States, you can call us toll-free 866-805-0990 (518-474-7736 in the Albany, New York area). Business hours are Monday through Friday, from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. You will need to answer some questions to confirm your identity before we update your contact information in our records.
By Mail You can complete and submit a change of address form by mail. (You’ll need this form if your new address is a PO box or an international address.) Mail your completed form to: