Home/NYPD/Retirement Lessons

NYPD Retirement Lessons

Sixteen lessons on the retirement decisions you’ll face as an NYPD officer. Lessons 1 to 8 cover the pension decisions; 9 to 16 cover your statement, the money that comes with the pension and the paperwork of leaving. Fifteen are up now, free to read.

  1. Lesson 1: Which tier you’re inYour appointment date sets it: before July 1, 2009 is Tier 2, on or after is Tier 3. What changes between the two.
  2. Lesson 2: How your final salary is figuredTier 2 hires from July 2000 to June 2009 who retire on or after September 28, 2026 get the highest of three salary figures under Chapter 312.
  3. Lesson 3: Go at 20 or stayWhat each year past 20 adds to your pension in Tier 2 and Tier 3, and the break-even on staying.
  4. Lesson 4: Pension loansWhy a loan you paid back can still cost you, and what the shortage, excess and final withdrawal lines on your statement mean.
  5. Lesson 5: Retiree healthComing soon.
  6. Lesson 6: Your payout choiceEvery NYPD pension option and what each one pays a survivor, Tier 2 and Tier 3 side by side.
  7. Lesson 7: Your 457 and other moneyWhy your 457(b) generally has no 10% early withdrawal penalty, and how rolling it to an IRA can lose that.
  8. Lesson 8: Risk and how we investA two-minute quiz that shows which of our five portfolio models fits how much risk you’re comfortable with.
  9. Lesson 9: Reading your pension statementHow to get your statement on Form 70, and what each line in its two boxes means.
  10. Lesson 10: The VSF and the banked VSFWho gets the $12,000 VSF, when it’s paid, the offset until 62, and the banked VSF for years past 20.
  11. Lesson 11: The final withdrawal and your ASFTier 2: how much of your Annuity Savings Fund you can take at retirement, and what it does to your pension for life.
  12. Lesson 12: Your union annuity fundWhen you can take your PBA, SBA, DEA or SOC annuity money, your choices, and the tax rules that change in an IRA.
  13. Lesson 13: Beneficiaries before you retireWhat the Fund pays your family if you die while still working, and how to check and change your beneficiaries.
  14. Lesson 14: Terminal leave and your retirement dateWhy terminal leave sets your retirement date, why December 1 matters for the banked VSF, and the lump-sum option.
  15. Lesson 15: Your pension option and finalizationThe 30-day option clock, the default to the Maximum, and the 95% period before finalization in Tier 2.
  16. Lesson 16: Taxes after you retireHow New York and the IRS tax your pension, VSF, 457 and annuity money, and what changes if you leave New York.

Prefer to watch? See the NYPD Retirement Lessons playlist on YouTube.

Open the free NYPD calculator

Educational only. Not investment advice. Sirmium Capital LLC is a New York state-registered investment adviser and is not registered with the SEC. Confirm every figure and date with the New York City Police Pension Fund before acting.