Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: In the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System, Tier 6 members (those who joined on or after April 1, 2012) vest after five years of credited service. Most Tier 6 members can retire at age 63, or as early as 55 with a reduced benefit. Tier 2, 3 and 4 members retire with no age reduction at 62, or between 55 and 62 with 30 or more years of service credit.
Tier 6 eligibility
“ERS members who joined on or after April 1, 2012 are in Tier 6.” “As a Tier 6 member, you will be vested once you have five years of credited service.” “Most Tier 6 members are eligible for a service retirement benefit at age 63, or they can choose to retire as early as age 55 with a reduced benefit.”
Who can retire at 55
The Employees’ Retirement System booklet says to be eligible to collect a benefit a member must meet one of the following criteria, including: “Tier 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 members age 55 or older with five or more years of credited service.”
Retiring with no age reduction
The booklet lists those who retire with no age-based reduction, including: “Tier 2, 3, and 4 members who retire between the ages of 55 and 62 with 30 or more years of service credit;” “If you choose to retire before age 63, your benefit will be subject to a reduction.” Everyone else: “Retirement benefits for members who retire under a regular plan and do not meet one of the criteria listed above will be permanently reduced based on their age on their date of retirement.”
How the reduction is prorated
“These reductions are prorated by the month. For example, the pension benefit of a Tier 4 member with less than 30 years of service who retires at the age of 55 years and 6 months old would be permanently reduced by 25.5 percent.”
What the pension is based on
For a Tier 6 member, the booklet says: “If you retire with less than 20 years of service credit, the benefit equals 1.66 percent of your FAE for each year of service. If you retire with 20 years of service credit, the benefit equals 35 percent of your FAE.” “For each year of service credit in excess of 20 years, you will receive an additional 2 percent of your FAE.” The average: “Your Final Average Earnings (FAE) will be the average of your highest three consecutive years of earnings in New York public employment, subject to certain limitations.”
A worked example with invented numbers
Take an invented Tier 6 member with 25 years of service credit. That is 35% at 20 years of service credit plus 5 years at 2%, or 45% (computed) of a final average salary of $70,000 (invented, for the computation), which comes to $31,500 a year (computed).
What the documents do not say
The Tier 6 reduction chart (a percentage for each age from 62 down to 55) is a table and is not quoted. The only reduction number printed in prose in the booklet is the Tier 4 example above. Tier 5, Tier 1, the Police and Fire Retirement System and special plans are not covered. A search of both documents found no rule-of-N formula.
Common mistakes
- Using the Tier 4 age of 62 for a Tier 6 member. NYSLRS puts the unreduced Tier 6 age at 63.
- Expecting the reduction table to be a flat rate. NYSLRS publishes it by tier and prorates it by the month.
- Applying these rules to the Police and Fire Retirement System, which this page does not cover.
Related: NYSLRS retirement decisions, the NYSLRS COLA for 2027, how public pension decisions work, and whether New York taxes pensions.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Talk to an advisor about retirement income
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore advisor help with retirement income
Considering financial advice? Request an adviser introduction with no obligation to hire.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Requesting an introduction is free. Submitting the form shares your contact details with advisers, so expect calls and texts. Advisers pay for introductions. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you hire anyone. A match is not guaranteed.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- Office of the New York State Comptroller, NYSLRS, Retirement Benefit Summary Tier 6 ERS: osc.ny.gov
- Office of the New York State Comptroller, NYSLRS, Your Retirement Benefits, Employees’ Retirement System (ZO1835, Rev. 1/25): www.osc.ny.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 410, Pensions and annuities: www.irs.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): IRS Tax Topic 411, Pensions: the General Rule and the Simplified Method: www.irs.gov
Read from the primary documents linked above on October 30, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the IRS itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.