Vested Retirement

Vested members can leave City service while retaining the right to a future retirement benefit.

You become a vested NYCERS member after accumulating at least five years of credited or allowable service (10 years if you were terminated before 7/17/1993). The type of service required to vest depends on the requirements of your retirement plan. Your vested retirement benefit becomes payable once you reach the age specified by your retirement plan. 

To learn about the age requirements for payment of a vested retirement benefit, refer to the vesting section of your Tier’s Plan Description, or, if you are in a Special Plan, refer to your Plan Brochure – Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 6.  

If you are leaving city service with more than five years of Credited/Allowable Service: 

  1. File a Notice of Intent to File for a Vested Benefit Form (available below).  
  2. If you haven’t already, register for MyNYCERS so you can easily update your contact and beneficiary information online and access your Vested Member Annual Disclosure Statement. 
  3. When you meet the age requirement for your Tier and Plan, complete an Application for Payment of a Vested Retirement Benefit (available below). 

Members with less than 10 years of service can choose to terminate their NYCERS membership and give up any future benefits from NYCERS by applying for a Refund of their accumulated salary deductions.