Thirty years of service, retiring at 55. In Tier 4 that is a full pension. In Tier 5 it is a 38% cut. In Tier 6 it is 52%. Same job, same service, different hire date.
If you work for New York State or a local government outside New York City, your pension is run by NYSLRS. What it pays is decided less by your job than by the date you were hired, and the gap between tiers is much wider than most members realise.
This page shows what the same salary and the same years of service produce in Tier 4, Tier 5 and Tier 6, side by side. Every figure comes from the plan booklets the State Comptroller publishes, and the sources are listed at the bottom.
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What each tier pays
Your tier is set by the date you joined NYSLRS. It does not change if you switch employers within the system, and it does not change with promotion.
If you are not sure, your Retirement Online account shows it. Tiers 1 and 2 cover pre-1976 hires and are not modelled here. Tier 3 members can retire under Article 14 or Article 15, and the Comptroller states the benefit "in most cases, will be greater under Article 15" — which is the same calculation shown here for Tier 4. If you are in Tier 3, treat the Tier 4 column as the Article 15 result and confirm your election with NYSLRS.
This page covers the Employees' Retirement System. The Police and Fire Retirement System runs on different plans, and New York City employees are in NYCERS, a separate system entirely.
| Tier 4 | Tier 5 | Tier 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full benefit at | 62 | 62 | 63 |
| Under 20 years | 1.66% a year | 1.66% a year | 1.66% a year |
| At 20 years | 2% a year | 2% a year | 1.75% a year |
| Beyond 30 years | 1.5% a year | 1.5% a year | 2% a year |
| Cut for starting at 55 | 27% | 38.33% | 52% |
| 30 years waives the cut | Yes | Court officers only | No |
The bottom row is where careers diverge. A Tier 4 member with 30 years of service can start their pension at 55 and lose nothing. A Tier 5 member doing exactly the same thing loses 38.33% for life, unless they are a uniformed court officer. A Tier 6 member loses 52%.
Below 20 years of service all three tiers pay the same 1.66% a year, which is why the differences only really bite later in a career, when they are hardest to do anything about.
In Tiers 4 and 5, reaching 20 years lifts the rate to 2% and applies it to every year of service, not just the years past 20. On a $35,000 salary base the Comptroller's own examples show 19 years paying $11,039 and 20 years paying $14,000. One more year, 27% more pension.
Tier 6 works differently. At 20 years the rate is 1.75%, giving 35% of salary, and each year beyond 20 adds 2%. The same 19-to-20 step is $11,039 to $12,250, about 11%. Tier 6 members are not rewarded for the twentieth year nearly as much, and they wait an extra year for a full benefit.
The reduction for going early is prorated by month in every tier, so retiring partway through a year lands between the whole-year figures. And in all three it is permanent. It does not lift when you reach full retirement age.
You can with five years of credited service in any of these tiers, but what it costs varies enormously. Tier 4 with 30 years loses nothing. Tier 5 loses 38.33%. Tier 6 loses 52%. Those cuts are permanent.
Yes, though less per year in Tiers 4 and 5, where the rate drops to 1.5% beyond 30. In Tier 6 each year past 20 adds 2%, so the rate does not fall off in the same way.
No. NYCERS covers New York City employees and is a separate system with its own rules. Its Tier 4 has no 30-year waiver at all, so a city employee retiring at 55 with 30 years takes the full cut. If you work for the City, use the NYCERS Tier 4 page instead.
They are generally in the Police and Fire Retirement System, which runs on different plans and is not modelled here. NYPD and FDNY are in neither NYSLRS nor NYCERS.
New York does not tax it. Federal treatment depends on your own return, and that question belongs with your tax professional.
Knowing the number is the start. What it does not tell you is how your deferred compensation should be positioned for the years before Social Security starts, what a survivor option really costs, or whether staying to a threshold is worth it against everything else going on in your life.
If you want to talk it through, the first conversation is fifteen minutes and there is nothing to buy. Bring your numbers.
Sirmium Capital LLC is a registered investment adviser. Educational information only, not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Registration does not imply any particular level of skill or training.
Reviewed as of July 2026. Every figure comes from the plan booklet the New York State Comptroller publishes for that tier. The calculator was checked against each worked example in those booklets and reproduces them.
Sources: NYS Comptroller publication 1522, Coordinated Plan for ERS Tier 3 and 4 Members · Publication 1523, Coordinated Plan for ERS Tier 5 Members · Publication 1530, Coordinated Plan for ERS Tier 6 Members, together with each booklet's "Retiring Before Age 62" or "Age 63" section for the reduction schedules. Rules and figures change; confirm your own situation with NYSLRS, and route tax questions to your tax professional.