Today, Assemblyman Patrick Burke (D-Buffalo) announced that his legislation to allow retirees of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) the option of a benefit recalculation after two years instead of five years when coming out of retirement passed the New York State Assembly last night (A10529).

“Currently, the NYSTRS and the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System (NYSLRS) operate under two different benefit recalculation models when a retiree decides to come out of retirement," explained Assemblyman Burke. "My legislation simply allows the teacher retirement system to have the same benefit retirement policy as the local employee's system."

When a teacher decides to come out of retirement and return to work, their benefits are recalculated after five years instead of two years under the NYSLRS. This discrepancy makes it more difficult financially for a retired teacher to return to the classroom. It also limits the number of available experienced teachers a school can hire.

"At a time when we are facing a shortage of teachers to educate our students, we need to do everything we can to make it easier for our schools to hire experienced educators," stated Burke. "I want to thank my colleagues in the Assembly for passing this important legislation and encourage the Governor to sign it into law."