I am thinking about retiring during this school year rather than at the end of the school year. If the contract is settled after I retire how will I be affected? If a new contract is fully ratified after your date of retirement you will be affected by all new contract provisions that have an effective date prior to your retirement. Any new provisions that become effective either after full ratification or on some future July 1st should not have an impact upon you.

I am a long-time Tier 3 member of TRS and made 3% contributions for 21 years. Is there any news on what credit, if any, I will receive for making 3% contributions for more than 10 years? When the new legislation passed that stopped contributions after 10 years of membership there were many members of Tiers 3 & 4 who had made contributions for over 20 years. Each year the NYSUT legislative package includes an item to allow additional months of service credit for each year of contribution beyond 10 years. To date, the bill has not passed both houses of the legislature. With the help of your Vote-Cope funds, perhaps this proposed legislation will soon become law.

I understand that the vision plan coverage is for the employee only. Can I add my spouse and dependents to the plan? The MTA Benefit Fund trustees examined the issue of voluntary family coverage in the spring of 2004 by sending a survey to all teachers. The results showed that the level of interest did not meet the threshold that was established by Davis Vision.

Any questions regarding retirement, salary, or the Benefit Fund, may be e-mailed to: questions@middletownteachers.org. All questions will receive a reply and some may appear in future newsletters. Visit our archives at:middletownteachers.org for all the answers!