ATR Severance Offer - from Mike Sill at UFT

As you have likely heard, the DOE is offering a voluntary severance to all members of the ATR pool and to UFT-represented employees in Title I-funded positions in the nonpublic schools.

In order to be eligible, a person must be a member of the ATR pool (whether in a rotational or provisional assignment) or a UFT-represented DOE employee working in a Title I position in a nonpublic school.

Anyone who agrees to take the severance will receive $50,000 before taxes, on or about Sept. 16, 2019.


Employees who accept the severance offer must agree to either resign or retire (if eligible) no later than Aug. 23, 2019. Please keep in mind that people who resign forfeit their right to the 2019 and 2020 retroactive lump-sum payments from the 2014 DOE-UFT contract. Those who retire will still get those lump-sum payments, assuming they are eligible.

Eligible employees who agree to take the severance must return the Voluntary Severance Agreement and General Release form by May 31, 2019 at 5 p.m. You must submit the form in person to the DOE Division of Human Capital at 65 Court St. You must also bring a copy of your retirement receipt, if retiring.

Nobody should agree to take the severance before speaking to a UFT representative.

On Friday, April 12 at 4 p.m., each of the UFT's borough offices will hold a general information session for any employee of the ATR pool considering resigning or retiring.

Register to attend »

At this meeting, pension representatives will provide members with information about retirement and the necessary forms and instructions.

If you are eligible to retire and plan to accept the severance offer, the UFT Pension Department can also print a benefit estimate for you to review at the April 12 meeting. This printout provides you with an estimate of your maximum annual pension calculation along with different amounts for any pension options.

If you request a printout, you must fill out all of the fields in the registration form for the estimate to be accurate. Pension representatives will be in attendance to walk members individually through their pension benefit estimates and answer specific questions.

You can find all of the information requested in your 2018 Annual Benefits Statement (ABS) from TRS. If you do not know how to access your ABS, this video from TRS will demonstrate how to view it.

If you plan to retire and you have a final consultation already scheduled, you do not need a printout for this meeting. If you request a printout, there is no need to schedule a final consultation since we will be giving you all the information and forms you will need.

In order to receive a printout of your pension breakdown at the event, you must RSVP no later than Sunday, April 7.

Sincerely,

Michael Sill
UFT Director of Personnel