UFT Tier 6 DISASTER - It's worse than you thought - New Action

I will be at the DA today handing out this leaflet before the meeting. There is a demo also re the cease fire at some point. I will take a few photos. I haven't been following the exact issues but expect some UFT reso and a push to add cease fire. I have a lot to say on this issue but not here at this time. There are enough people taking on the BIG issues. Some people have to still keep their eye on the daily conditions UFT members face.

Tier 6 is a major issue

I see the Tier 6 issue becoming a big factor in the next UFT election in 2025 because it is doubtful the UFT will get much change. But I would bet on some minor incremental change, oh, say around January 2025 just a few months before the election.

A committee sponsored by New Action has been working up some data on just how bad Tier 6 is. Over 50% of current UFT working members are in Tier 6. And for us Tier ones, Tier 4 looked rotten. (Tier one was ended c. 1973.)

Remember when Randi traded our 8.25% down to 7% for peanuts? Until recent interest rates hitting 5%, 7% still looked like gold so most of us didn't complain much. The handout says the difference over 40 years is $1.5 million compounded. It doesn't say based on what base but back of envelope calculations show that for every 100k you get 7k in interest each year  vs what we used to get - $8,250. So in one year that's a loss of $1250 for teachers. Compound that number even over 10 years. Randi the negotiator. As we always say, the UFT often seems more interested in working to save the city money than in its own members.

But the Tier 6 stuff is even more sickening. The UFT leadership claims Tier 6 reform is a high priority but they also talk about incremental improvements. People will be dead and new teachers on Tier 10 and working till 80 to get a pension.

 

If you want to copy and paste and share with co-workers I put the text below the break. Or contact NAC for copies.

 

 

November 2023
Are you in Tier 6? Think you have a good pension? Think again!
Did you know:
• New York ranks 15th Nationwide for new teacher retirement benefits according
to equable.org, ranking behind South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, and North Dakota.
• Tier 4 members contribute 3% of their salary for 10 years, and nothing thereafter. Tier 6
members contribute 6% of our salary for up to 40 years.
• Tier.4 members can retire with full benefits at age 55 and 30 years of service (25 years if
paid into the 55/25 plan). Tier 6 members cannot retire with full benefits until age 63.
• All TRS members except UFT members receive a fixed 8.25% return on their TDA.
This includes all NYC administrators, CUNY employees, and Hunter High School
teachers. UFT members only get 7.00%. What's the difference between 7% and 8.25%
compounded over 40 years? Up to $1.5 million.

Tier 4 vs Tier 6

Teachers
Tier 4 Teachers Tier 6 Police and Sanitation

Contribution Rate

3% for 10
years

6% for up to 40
years* 3% for up to 25 years

Retirement age for full
pension 55 63

Retire at any age with 22 years of

service
Required Years of Service 25** or 30 Up to 40 22
*Members pay 5.75% until salary reaches $100,000
**Tier 4 members can retire with 25 years of service if they pay additional 1.85% per year
The result? Compared with Tier 4 members, Tier 6 members contribute the equivalent of up
to $1.4 million more, must retire at 63 instead of 55, and must work up to 40 years instead of
25 (15 additional years) to collect a full pension. Does that sound like a good deal to you?
Tier 6 UFT members contribute to their Pensions as long as they are in service with rates as high
as 6 % and cannot retiree with a full pension until the age of 63. This is in contrast to other City
Unions. For example, the Sanitation Union members are in Tier 4 with contribution rates of 3 %

and can retiree with 22 years of service regardless of age. Police officers are in Tier 3 and also
can Retiree with 22 years of service regardless of age and also have contribution rates of 3 %.
Police officers also receive a second pension called The Variable Supplement of 12,000 dollars
on top of their regular Pension. They get this because their Union won this benefit for them. The
money comes from the excess in their pension fund.
UFT President, Michael Mulgrew, stated , that change to our pension system will be slow in
coming. Can UFTer’s in Tier 6 really wait much longer – this is unacceptable!

Making Tier 6 Viable
• No pension contributions after 10 years of service
• Full pension benefits after age 55 with 25 years of service
• Option to pay into an early retirement plan and retire with full benefits at 55 with only 20
years of service
• Final Average Salary calculated based on best single year (instead best 9 consecutive
years)
• Return to 8.25% fixed TDA received by all other city teachers and administrators in
New York.
• Let’s make Tier 6 better than Tier 4 and allow Tier 4 members to retire into Tier 6
(similar to the improvements made to Tier 4 that now allow Tier 3 members to retire into
Tier 4).

Michael (Bklyn) (646) 286-3288/ Nick (Manh.) (860) 922-5833/ Joel