Bill Goes to Spitzer
Pension Break Shot For PSC Members

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Veteran instructors at the State and City Universities of New York will see an effective 3-percent increase in their take-home pay if Governor Spitzer signs a pension relief bill passed at the end of the June legislative session.

BARBARA BOWEN: A matter of equity.

The measure would apply to instructors with more than 10 years in the system enrolled in TIAA-CREF and would eliminate their contribution of 3 percent of salary toward their pensions. The change would give the Professors parity with city workers in other retirement systems who were granted the same pension relief in 2000.

'A Catch-Up Provision'

"This is simply an equity provision, a catch-up provision," said Professional Staff Congress President Barbara Bowen. "It is a benefit to the people of New York, because anything that enhances professional and academic jobs also enhances the quality of education."

PSC officials estimated that more than 2,400 CUNY and 8,700 SUNY Professors would be affected.

If passed, the benefit would be phased in over three years and would cost the state about $2 million the first year, rising to $8 million by the third.

In 2000, the State Legislature passed the Enhanced Benefit Law, which eliminated the 3-percent payment for workers in Tiers 3 and 4 of most state retirement systems. Employees in the Optional Retirement Plan, about 75 to 80 percent of CUNY instructors, were left out of the bill. Many instructors choose the ORP and invest in TIAA-CREF because it was designed specifically for academics and people working in higher education. The plan is portable and can be carried between institutions, which aids Professors who often change universities, whether they are entering or leaving the CUNY system.

TIAA-CREF Left Out

The choice of a pension plan is irrevocable, so when the relief was granted to some CUNY instructors in the Teachers Retirement System, their colleagues who opted for TIAA-CREF did not receive the same benefit.

PSC officials and members began lobbying for the change in 2001, but the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 changed the Legislature's focus for a period of time. Last year the measure made it through both state houses, but was vetoed by then-Governor Pataki.

Union leaders are urging Governor Spitzer to sign the bill. "People stay at CUNY because they are committed to the project of higher education in a public setting," said Ms. Bowen. "Some recognition of this by the state has a tremendous symbolic value as well as financial value."