Many of Cornell's faculty, staff and Cooperative Extension employees enrolled in the New York State Employees Retirement System (NYSERS) or the State University of New York Optional Retirement Plan (SUNY-ORP) have an important decision to make: whether to retire under the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) program announced by New York state in July.

New benefits Web pages, including frequently asked questions and a detailed Powerpoint webcast, have been created to assist with that decision. The webcast provides a step-by-step walk-through to help employees determine whether they are eligible for the ERI, what their retirement benefits will be, how to apply for retirement and how to set up their retirement payments. Employees can also attend campus presentations for help in understanding the ERI.

The ERI has two parts: Part B, whose window for retirement runs to Sept. 30, and Part A, whose window for retirement runs Oct. 3-Dec. 31. Employees are eligible to retire under Part B if they are enrolled in Tiers 2, 3 and 4 of NYSERS, are at least age 55 but less than age 62, and have at least 25 but less than 30 years of state service credit by the date of retirement. They must submit their applications by Aug. 30.

Those eligible for retirement under Part A must be enrolled in NYSERS or SUNY-ORP, be at least 50 years old, and have at least 10 years of state service credit. They must submit their applications by Nov. 30. All employees must have been active, paid employees since Feb. 1, 2010.

Health insurance benefits are also available to employees retiring under either Part A or Part B who have at least 10 years of employment in a New York State Health Insurance Plan (NYSHIP)-eligible position and are actively enrolled in NYSHIP at the time of their retirement.

The conditions governing eligibility, the formulas for figuring out retirement benefits and the application process are complicated. They are outlined on the Web pages at http://hr.cornell.edu/benefits/retirement/eri.html. Employees considering retirement are also encouraged to contact the Resource Center at Benefit Services, 607-255-3936 or e-mail benefits@cornell.edu, for assistance in thinking through and applying for the retirement incentive. Group information sessions with Benefit Services representatives will be listed at this website as they are scheduled.