Adjuncts are eligible to join the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and to purchase a tax-deferred annuity from TRS, TIAA-CREF or the HRC from the first day of employment. 

The Teachers Retirement System plan includes a pension, death benefits, and a disability pension.  It’s funded by the employee and the employer.

Here’s how TRS works 

After enrolling, 3% of your gross salary will be deducted from all your CUNY paychecks by

automatic payroll deduction. You’ll earn 5% interest. After contributing for ten calendar years, you no longer have to make contributions. The university will continue to make contributions.  

How TRS calculates your service 

A year of credited service is equated as 360 teaching hours or 600 non-teaching hours. A three-hour course over a fifteen-week semester will earn you 45 hours, a six-hour course is 90 hours.  

Vesting 

After accumulating five years of credited service you will be vested.  This means you will be eligible when you reach the age of 62 to receive a pension based on your years of service, whether or not you earn further credit in TRS. If you want to buy back prior service you may do so two calendar years after your initial enrollment, at 3% of your earnings during that service plus 5% interest compounded annually. For example, if you are 62, have two calendar years of TRS membership and buy back five credited years, you can start collecting your pension. Although you may continue to work after you start collecting your pension, deductions and contributions will cease. 

Calculating how much you’ll get after retirement  

To calculate your retirement benefits, you must know your Final Average Salary (FAS), which is the average salary of your highest three consecutive years of credited service. An annualized year is defined as 360 times the wages earned in a year, divided by the hours of credited service in that year.

For instance, if you earned $10,000 in a year and were credited with 180 hours, the formula would look like this: $10,000 x 360=3,600,000¸180=FAS of $20,000.  

The retirement allowance for those who have less than 20 credited years of service is 1.67%  of  your Final Average Salary times your years of service. Someone who has 10 credited years of service and a FAS of $15,000 will get $2500 a year.   

The retirement allowance for those who have over  20 credited years of service is 2% times the Final Average Salary times years of service.  Those with over 30 years of service add an additional 1.5% times the FAS times the years of service after 30. 

Taxes 

For NY State residents, these pension payments are exempt from state and city taxes. 

Disability Benefits 

Disability benefits are available to a member of TRS who has 10 or more years of service credit (3600 hours). Benefit schedules and formulas are spelled out in the laws relating to Tier IV.

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