Stop Tier VI

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“I started working full-time at CUNY in 1972 and chose TIAA-CREF without understanding very much what I was doing. With a defined contribution plan, your returns can vary greatly with the market. Since 2008 the value of my defined contribution pension declined nearly 30% and still hasn't recovered.

Now, the proposed Tier 6 would reduce the employer’s contribution by at least half, and retirees might still be victims of the market if they choose a defined contribution plan. The pensions of future CUNY employees will be far more meager than mine, and they will have to work much longer before they can afford to retire. On a larger scale, this pension cutback will impoverish the next generation of retired state employees, and fewer new jobs will be available for our kids and grand kids as state workers labor longer.”
-- Steve Leberstein, Co-chair, Safety Net Working Group

Take Action Now! Stop Tier VI! Call 1-877-255-9417!

Take action against the attacks on public-worker pensions. Call 1-877-255-9417 to tell your legislators and the governor that you oppose a new Tier 6 pension plan that would cut benefits for New York’s future public employees, including new CUNY faculty and staff. Proponents of these cutbacks falsely blame budget problems on public workers’ “high pension costs,” but reducing future benefits will not save any money for 10 years and will put at risk effective recruitment of new faculty. The source of State and City budget problems is a generation of tax breaks for the rich, not public employees’ pensions. You can fax your representatives (and find flyers and fact sheets) at mac.nysut.org/issues.

Clarion coverage of the attack on pensions:

• Unions oppose public sector pension cuts.
• How business elites looted private sector pensions.
• Payroll tax holiday puts social security at risk.