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Contract College Retirement Plans

Choose between a defined benefit pension plan that provides a specified payment amount at retirement OR a defined contribution plan, where assets are based on amounts contributed by the employer, the employee, and the success of investments chosen by the participant.

New York State requires that all regular full-time employees and employees working full-time for at least 12 months, enroll in a New York State retirement plan. You can only waive enrollment if you are a part-time or temporary employee.  If you choose to waive enrollment, complete the front and back of the Contract College Retirement Plan Election form and return the completed form to HR Services and Transitions Center.

Quick Facts

  • Plans:

    • Employees Retirement System (ERS) - a defined benefit pension plan that provides a specified payment amount at retirement

    • SUNY Optional Retirement Program (SUNY ORP) - a defined contribution plan, where assets are based on amounts contributed by the employer, the employee, and the success of investments chosen by the participant

  • Eligibility:
    • hourly employees are only eligible for the ERS pension plan
    • salaried employees may choose between the ERS pension plan and the SUNY ORP Retirement Program; though election must be made within the first 30 days of date of hire; after 30 days, your only enrollment option is the ERS pension plan
    • County Cooperative Extension Association employees are only eligible for the ERS pension plan, unless they have a SUNY ORP contract from prior employment
  • Beneficiaries: It's important to note that the beneficiary functionality in Workday does not integrate with outside vendors.

Plan Options

The ERS Pension Plan

One option is a defined benefit pension plan, called the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) with the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS). This plan is available for both salaried and hourly employees. 

The benefits provided include:

When you join the ERS pension plan, you are assigned to one of six tiers based on your date of membership. All employees who join after April 1, 2012 are in Tier 6.  Tier 6 members have mandatory contributions between 3 and 6 percent for their entire careers, based on earnings. Information on ERS tiers, contribution rates, etc. can be found at the Comparison of ERS Benefits website.

To find out more about the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) visit "Membership in a Nutshell" on the NYSLRS website.

ERS Credit for Previous Public Service

You may be able to obtain credit for your previous public employment. It is very important that you claim all the service you are entitled to receive, as early as possible, because records documenting your previous service may become lost or destroyed with the passage of time. 
  • Learn more about purchasing service credit by watching this short video.

SUNY Optional Retirement Program (SUNY ORP)

Option two is a defined contribution 401(a) plan called the State University of New York Optional Retirement Program (SUNY ORP). This plan is only available to salaried employees, or past participants of SUNY ORP. 

Benefits are provided under one of six available tiers based on the enrollment date. Employees who join SUNY ORP after April 12, 2012 are Tier 6 members and have a 366-day vesting period in effect from the date of hire. Employees who have a vested prior employer-funded account with any of the SUNY ORP vendors may have the vesting period waived upon confirmation of the prior employer-funded account.

The Tier 6 required Employee Contribution Rate in a given year is based upon wages from the earlier of the two prior calendar years (the two-year look-back) and ranges from 3-6% (see below for details). The Employer Contribution Rate is 8% of gross salary for the first seven years of active SUNY-ORP membership service, and 10% thereafter, upon completion of the seventh year of membership.

Contributions by Tier

SUNY Contribution rates are determined according to an employee's date of membership into an ORP-eligible position. These contribution rates are broken down by the following Tier Categories:

Employer Contribution Rates for Tiers 1-6

Tier

Dates

Employer Contribution

Tier 1

Membership prior to July 1, 1973

12% of the first $16,500 of salary per calendar year, and

15% of all salary above $16,500

Tier 2

July 1, 1973 -

July 26, 1976

12% of the first $16,500 of salary per calendar year, and

15% of all salary above $16,500

Tier 3

July 27, 1976 -

August 31, 1983

Employees who have not completed 10 years of Participation:

9% of the first $16,500 of salary per calendar year, and

12% of all salary above $16,500

Employees who have completed 10 years of Participation:

12% of the first $16,500 of salary per calendar year, and

12% of all salary above $16,500

Tier 4

September 1, 1983 -

July 16, 1992

Employees who have not completed 10 years of Participation:

9% of the first $16,500 of salary per calendar year, and

12% of all salary above $16,500

Employees who have completed 10 years of Participation:

12% of the first $16,500 of salary per calendar year, and

12% of all salary above $16,500

Tier 5

July 17, 1992 -

March 31, 2012

11% of compensation for the first seven years of service, and 13% of compensation after the completion of seven years of service.

Tier 6

April 1, 2012 and after

8% of salary for the first seven years of service, and 10% of compensation after the completion of seven years of service.

 

 Tier 6 Mandatory Employee Contributions

Tier 6 participants will be required to make employee contributions for the duration of their membership based upon their estimated gross annual wages in a given calendar year, as follows:

Wages of $45,000 or less: 3%

Wages of $45,000.01 to $55,000: 3.5%

Wages of $55,000.01 to $75,000: 4.5%

Wages of $75,000.01 to $100,000: 5.75%

Wages greater than $100,000: 6%

Income Tax

  • Federal income tax: employee contributions are made through payroll deduction and are not subject to Federal income tax until distributions are taken.
  • NY State and local income tax: employee contributions are subject to NYS state and local taxes when contributed and are exempt at distribution. For taxation information on SUNY ORP distributions, please refer to the SUNY website.
Employee contributions made prior to January 1, 1990 were subject to Federal income tax. Employee contributions made on and after January 1, 1990 are made pre-Federal income tax.

All contributions are made based upon compensation up to the federal limit, which is determined annually by the IRS.  

Comparing Plans

If you're new to Cornell and trying to decide which option is right for you, check out this comparison chart and this video offered by the State University of New York (SUNY). New exempt employees must select which of the two retirement plans in which to participate within 30 days of hire.

Changing between plans

If you are a salaried (exempt) employee and you choose to enroll in the SUNY ORP 401(a) retirement plan, you may not switch to the ERS pension plan even, if you change jobs.

If you are an hourly (non-exempt) employee enrolled in the ERS pension plan and your job status changes to salaried, you will have the option of electing SUNY ORP or remaining in ERS.  You must elect to enroll in SUNY ORP within 30 days of your job status change; after 30 days, you will remain enrolled in the ERS pension plan.

Enrollment

Enrollment in the ERS pension plan is not through Workday but by the completion of Form RS 5420 Employees’ Retirement System Membership Registration. The completed form must be returned to the HR Services and Transitions Center; please do NOT send the form to the address noted in the upper left of the form.

Enrollment in the SUNY ORP plan is not through Workday, but by the completion of the Contract College Retirement Plan Election form. Please review and complete all three pages; all three pages must be returned to the HR Services and Transitions Center within 30 days of your hire/appointment datee.

Managing your Accounts

ERS Pension Plan with NYSLRS

To find out what tier you are in, sign into Retirement Online and look under 'My Account Summary’. You can also contact the NYSLRS Contact Center at 1-866-805-0990.

SUNY ORP

SUNY ORP participants must use the Retirement@Work portal to select their investment provider (they may have multiple investment providers) and to select an investment alternative based on investment objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance among other factors, using the four investment providers. Enrolling in SUNY ORP via Retirement@Work does not enroll you in SUNY ORP in Workday.

The four investment providers are:

Failure to select an investment provider will result in SUNY ORP accounts remaining with TIAA until an election is made. SUNY ORP participants may change their investment provider selection at any time.

Managing your Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries for the retirement plans are not designated through Workday.

ERS Pension Plan with NYSLRS

Retirement Online is NY state's self-service tool that provides access to your retirement account information. Sign Up or Sign In to view your current beneficiaries, or designate beneficiaries. The Designation of Beneficiary form (original or a copy) is not sent to Cornell.

For more information, visit Life Changes: Why Should I Designate a Beneficiary?

SUNY ORP

Beneficiary information for your SUNY ORP retirement plan is updated directly through your selected investment provider: