If You Are No Longer Able to Work

Transcription

1 If You Are No Longer Able o Work NY STRS A Guide for Making Disabiliy Reiremen Decisions

2 INTRODUCTION If you re forced o sop working because of a serious illness or injury, you and your family will be faced wih difficul quesions. NYSTRS saff will help you make informed decisions abou your benefis and will guide you hrough he reiremen process. Call he Sysem a (800) , Ex if you are in his siuaion. A disabiliy reiremen benefi is generally one-hird of your final average salary. However, he benefi may be more or less depending on your age and service credi. For an esimae of your disabiliy reiremen benefi, please refer o your mos-recen Benefi Profile, or conac he Sysem. APPLYING FOR DISABILITY All disabiliy reiremen applicaions and medical documenaion are reviewed by he NYSTRS Medical Board, which deermines wheher applicans are eligible for disabiliy reiremen. The Reiremen Board may require you o be examined by a physician chosen by he Board. To obain he necessary applicaion for disabiliy reiremen: Prin he Disabiliy Reiremen Applicaion Package (RET-54.1) from he Reiremen-Relaed Forms page a NYSTRS.org; Call NYSTRS Disabiliy Reiremen uni a (800) , Ex. 6010; or, Reques one from your employer. You may file your noarized applicaion wih NYSTRS as lae as your effecive dae of reiremen. Do no delay. You can file he applicaion before collecing he necessary medical documenaion. You can remain on payroll while he disabiliy applicaion is pending. Your reiremen dae can be he day afer your las paid day of work. If you die before your effecive dae of reiremen, paymen will sill be made if all of he following apply: You seleced he Declining Reserve Opion (4%) (Tier 1) or he Larges Non-Declining Lump Sum Opion (Tier 2 6 members) on he applicaion you filed wih NYSTRS; You oherwise qualified for a disabiliy reiremen; and, The Reiremen Board deermines he illness specified on your applicaion was direcly relaed o he cause of your deah. Eligibiliy Requiremens To be eligible o receive a NYSTRS disabiliy reiremen benefi, you mus mee all of he following requiremens: Tiers 1 and 2 Have a leas 10 years of New York Sae service credi. (If you are Tier 2, you mus have a leas five of he 10 years since las becoming a member.) Be oally and permanenly incapaciaed from furher eaching. Sop eaching because of he disabiliy. Tiers 3 6 Have a leas 10 years of New York Sae service credi. (Noe: The 10-year requiremen is waived if he disabiliy resuled from an on-he-job acciden.) Be oally and permanenly incapaciaed from all furher gainful employmen. Have filed a disabiliy applicaion wih NYSTRS wihin 12 monhs of he las dae you were on he payroll. If you are placed on a leave of absence wihou pay for medical reasons, you may file a disabiliy applicaion no laer han 12 monhs afer he dae your medical leave ended. Tier 3 members wih a leas five years of credi who leave eaching because of a disabiliy and who are eligible for primary Social Securiy disabiliy benefis are eligible for a NYSTRS disabiliy benefi under Tier 3 (Aricle 14). The service requiremen is waived if he disabiliy resuled from an on-he-job acciden. 2

3 IF YOU ARE CRITICALLY ILL THE QUESTION: If you are criically ill, have a life expecancy of less han one year and mee he disabiliy reiremen eligibiliy requiremens, should you say on he payroll and be covered by an in-service deah benefi, or reire and selec an opion providing a paymen o your beneficiary? THE ANSWER: Wih few excepions, if you have 10 or more years of service, you should file for disabiliy reiremen immediaely regardless of your age. In mos cases, he lump-sum paymen a beneficiary would receive in he even of your deah would be significanly more han he in-service deah benefi paid ou had you no reired. Under Tier 1, he appropriae opion o selec is he Declining Reserve Opion (4%). Under Tiers 2 6, in mos cases you should selec he Larges Non-Declining Lump Sum Opion. Conac NYSTRS before making your final decisions. THE DIFFERENCE: STAYING ON PAYROLL VS. RETIRING Depending on your ier, he dispariies beween an in-service deah benefi (obainable by saying on payroll) and an opion paymen (available by reiring) can be subsanial. Saying on Payroll A member age 60 wih 24 years of service and a salary of $80,000 dies in service. The deah benefi is... $240,000 Required member conribuions plus ineres are also reurned in he amoun of... $60,000 Toal paymen o a beneficiary is $300,000 Consider his Tier 4 example VS. Reiring The member reires, selecs he Larges Non-Declining Lump Sum Opion and dies in reiremen. The paymen is... $360,000 A Paragraph 2 deah benefi (defined on nex page) is also paid. If deah occurred in he firs year of reiremen, he paymen is... $120,000 Toal paymen o a beneficiary is.... $480,000 By reiring insead of coninuing o work, he paymen o his member s beneficiary is increased by $180,000. Noe: In lieu of eiher benefi, you may receive an acceleraed deah benefi ha would pay you an amoun equal o he deah benefi payable if you died on he las day of reporable service. To be eligible, you mus qualify for a disabiliy reiremen benefi (alhough he service requiremen would be waived) and have eiher a) a erminal illness resuling in a life expecancy of no more han 12 monhs, or b) a medical condiion requiring exraordinary care or reamen. Before making any decisions, we srongly urge you o discuss your siuaion wih a Sysem represenaive by calling (800) , Ex

4 WORKING WHILE ON DISABILITY TIERS 1 AND 2 Alhough Tier 1 and 2 members mus be oally and permanenly incapaciaed from furher eaching service, hey may work in oher employmen while on disabiliy; however, here is a limi on earnings. FILING FOR DISABILITY PROTECTION If you have been diagnosed wih a life-hreaening medical condiion, or are having surgery or reamen for a medical condiion, consider filing a disabiliy reiremen applicaion. Doing so provides an imporan safey ne for you and your beneficiaries. To file for proecion, complee he Applicaion for Disabiliy Reiremen (RET-54.1) and Medical Informaion Summary form (RET-54.1B) from he Disabiliy Reiremen Applicaion Package, available on he Reiremen-Relaed Forms page of our websie. On hese forms, you should: Indicae on he applicaion or in a cover leer ha you are filing for proecion only; Indicae he medical condiion necessiaing he reiremen; Leave he requesed dae of reiremen blank; and, Selec eiher he Declining Reserve Opion (Tier 1 only) or Larges Non-Declining Lump Sum Opion (Tiers 2 6). The forms, which require noarizaion, mus be received by NYSTRS prior o deah. If sen by regisered or cerified mail, he posmark dae is he received dae. Oherwise, i is considered received on he dae of delivery o NYSTRS. If your condiion improves and he proecion is no longer needed, you can rescind he applicaion and reurn o acive service. Or, if you decide o reire for disabiliy, you ll have 30 days o change your opion following approval by NYSTRS Medical Board. The amoun you may earn during a calendar year is limied o he difference beween your final average salary (or, if greaer, he salary you would be receiving had you coninued in service) and he amoun of your reiremen benefi. This calculaion considers only employmen; oher income is excluded. If you exceed he earnings limi, your disabiliy benefi will be reduced o reflec he excess earnings. Once each year he Sysem will reques a repor of your gross earnings from all employmen. If NYSTRS Medical Board deermines you are no longer disabled, your disabiliy benefi will be disconinued and you will be resored o acive saus under your original ier of membership. TIERS 3 6 You mus be oally and permanenly disabled from all employmen o qualify for, and coninue o receive, a NYSTRS benefi. Once each year he Sysem will reques a repor of your gross earnings from all employmen. Employmen may jeopardize your disabiliy reiremen. If you are a Tier 2 6 member who reires wihin a year of leaving payroll and are no oherwise employed in he inerim, he Paragraph 2 In-Service Deah Benefi provides he coninuaion of he deah benefi in reiremen as follows: 1s Year: PARAGRAPH 2 DEATH BENEFIT 50% of he deah benefi in effec a reiremen. 2nd Year: 25% of he deah benefi a reiremen. 3rd & Ensuing Years: 10% of he deah benefi a age 60 or a reiremen if earlier. 4

5 IF YOU RECOVER AND RETURN TO ACTIVE SERVICE Before you begin your disabiliy reiremen, you may wan o discuss wih your employer he possibiliy of remaining on an employer-approved leave of absence wihou pay, so ha if you recover you can reurn o acive service. Also, in some siuaions, you can be placed on a preferred eligible lis of candidaes for appoinmen if a vacancy occurs. You should conac your employer for more informaion. If you reurn o work for an employer reporing o he Sysem, your disabiliy benefi may cease. Your membership will be resored o acive saus under your original ier of membership. You will hen begin o accrue addiional credi oward a fuure benefi. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS [ Updae your beneficiary designaion for your NYSTRS benefis and your privae insurance policies. [ Conac Social Securiy a (800) or o discuss your eligibiliy for Social Securiy benefis. [ Review your privae disabiliy and life insurance coverage. THE BOTTOM LINE In his brochure, we ve presened quie a bi of imporan informaion o consider. The decision you make can have a long-erm financial impac on you and your family. Make sure you undersand all he possible consequences of he choice you make. Please call us a (800) , Ex before making a decision. While we can make decisions for you, we can ensure you have all he informaion you need o make he choice ha s righ for you. New York Sae Teachers Reiremen Sysem 10 CORPORATE WOODS DRIVE ALBANY, NY (800) NYSTRS.ORG 5