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Benefits: Retirement

The public retirement systems (TRS and ERS) are both "defined benefit" retirement programs. The benefits you receive at retirement will be determined based on a benefit formula, using a specific formula factor, your final average salary, age and years of service. The Optional Retirement Program (TIAA-CREF & Alternate Funding Vehicles) is a "defined contribution" program. The amount of benefits you receive at retirement will be based on the amount of funds contributed to your account, the investment earnings on those funds, your age when you begin drawing income and the benefit option you choose.

TRS (Defined Benefit)

This is a State retirement system which, if you join under present law, permits retirement at age 62 or older with five or more years of creditable service. Retirement is allowed at age 55 or older with five years of service credit; however, there is an age reduction in the benefit formula if service credit is less than thirty years.

ERS (Defined Benefit)

This is a State retirement system which, if you join under present law, permits retirement at age 62 or older with five or more years of creditable service. Retirement is allowed at age 55 or older with five years of service credit; however, there is an age reduction in the benefit formula if service credit is less than thirty years. Credit is given only for time actually worked. Ten-month faculty receive ten months of credited service. However, Chapters 310 and 311 of the Laws of 1993 permit community college employees who are employed on a full-time basis for the academic year to receive credit for the entire year.

Optional Retirement Programs
(TIAA-CREF & Alternate Funding Vehicles)

This is a retirement program under which individual contracts, providing retirement and death benefits for or on behalf of electing employees, are purchased from TIAA-CREF and or one or more of the alternate funding vehicles. Benefits are designed for retirement at any age.

If you wish to participate in TIAA-CREF, you may allocate the combined employee and college contribution to choose from among the TIAA traditional annuity, the TIAA Real Estate Account and/or the CREF variable annuity with eight distinct accounts; stock, money market, bond market, inflation-linked bonds, social choice, equity index, growth, and global equities. Contributions may be allocated to the above accounts in any percentage of your choice.

New TIAA-CREF Dedicated SUNY Phone Center

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new TIAA-CREF dedicated SUNY phone center and Help Line. The new SUNY Help Line center is staffed by TIAA-CREF representatives who have been trained to assist our employees and retirees with questions specifically related to the SUNY Optional Retirement Program (ORP) and the SUNY Voluntary Tax Deferred 403(b) Savings Program.

The new TIAA-CREF SUNY Help Line number is: 1-800-842-2252. Employees will be asked to enter their Social Security Numbers or TIAA-CREF contract numbers in order to be directed to the new SUNY team.

The new SUNY Help Line is now active and will be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Supplemental Retirement

Below is a listing of SUNY Approved Supplemental Retirement Agencies. To enroll in one of the listed annuity companies, please visit their website. (Please note that you may choose your own agent.)

Company Contact
Name Telephone Link
TIAA-CREF Eugene Glenn 800-842-2733 x236808 www.tiaa-cref.org/suny†
ING Kimberly Veach 845-483-7255 www.ing.com†
VALIC Mark Nachimson 800-448-2542 www.valic.com†
Met Life Lou Eliasof 914-372-2926 www.metlife.com†
Fidelity Investments Ask for Agent 800-343-0860 www.fidelity.com†
NYS Deferred Compensation Ask for Agent 800-422-8463 www.nysdcp.com†

TIAA-Cref Supplemental retirement Salary Reduction Agreement Change Form

If you wish to make changes to your contribution of an existing TIAA-Cref SRA account, please complete and return the salary reduction form to the payroll office. For all other supplemental retirement changes contact the sponsoring company.


† Following this link will take you out of the SUNY Orange Web site. The college cannot be responsible for the content of this external web site.

Human Resources Information:

Phone: (845) 341-4660
Fax: (845) 341-4670
Located in Orange Hall,
115 South Street Middletown, NY 10940
occchr@sunyorange.edu