Tier Six and Optional Retirement Program Reform
After months (and actually years...) of lobbying and pressuring policy makers (and others) to include UUP members of Tier 6 in any "fix," UUP has won a great victory for our members in Tier 6.
The NYS 2026-27 budget agreement includes the following which impacts over thousands of UUP members:
For those in the NYSERS/NYCERS (pension) retirement programs, the contribution bands have been altered to reduce the amount individuals have to contribute, as follows for specific income levels. This translates to more money in our pockets once the changes go into effect.
$75k or less: 3%
$75k - $100k: 4%
$100k - $125k: 5.25%
$125k or more: 5.75%
The current contribution levels are quite different:
$45k or less: 3%
$45k - $55k: 3.5%
$55k - $75k: 4.5%
$75k - $100k: 5.75%
$100k or more: 6%
For members in the SUNY and CUNY Optional Retirement Program (ORP) through TIAA, contribution bands will be adjusted to align with changes in the other retirement systems, and members will receive an additional 1% state contribution to their ORP accounts. This also means less money coming out of our paychecks to fund our retirement programs.
If it was not for UUP's tireless advocacy for our members, we would NOT have gotten this victory. If we had not insisted that ANY reform of Tier 6 had to include our ORP participants, it would simply not have happened. This is what Solidarity looks like!