WHEREAS, a defined-benefit pension is the most secure retirement plan available to working people and coupled with the voluntary tax-deferred annuity, provides eligible UFT members with at least two sources of income at retirement in addition to Social Security benefits and any independent personal savings, and;

WHEREAS, Tier 6 has been in effect for all New York State and New York City public employees for ten (10) years as of April 1, 2022 with recent improvements made as part of the 2022 New York State Budget, and;

WHEREAS, the UFT has always supported pension tier reform and has achieved prior success evidenced by improvements to existing pension plan tiers, the automatic enrollment of full-time paraprofessionals into the Teachers’ Retirement System of New York City, and the campaign to stop the New York State Constitutional Convention from eroding pension benefits for all City and State public employees, and;

WHEREAS, changes in pension benefits for New York State and New York City public employees must be accomplished through changes in New York State pension and retirement law; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the UFT, along with other public sector unions and the AFL-CIO, will continue the campaign to bring improvements and enhanced benefits to Tier 6 members.