Maximum
Largest monthly payment to you for life; no payment to a beneficiary.
All tiers
Handbook p. 37Why there are no dollar amounts here Check with NYSTRS
NYSTRS doesn't publish the factors it uses to turn the Maximum into an option amount. They depend on your age and your beneficiary's age.
We explain each option in words and show no option dollar amounts. Get your numbers from the MyNYSTRS Pension Estimator or a NYSTRS benefit estimate.
Maximum or an Option p. 4The Maximum
The most each month, for your life only.
Survivor options
A smaller check for you, and part of it continues to one beneficiary for life.
100% Survivor
Your full (reduced) allowance continues to one beneficiary for life.
All tiers
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(d)(1); Handbook p. 3875% Survivor
Three-quarters of your allowance continues to one beneficiary for life.
All tiers
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(d)(2)50% Survivor
One-half of your allowance continues to one beneficiary for life.
All tiers
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(d)(3)25% Survivor
One-quarter of your allowance continues to one beneficiary for life.
All tiers
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(d)(4)Pop-up survivor options
Like a survivor option, but your check goes up to the Maximum if your beneficiary dies first.
100% Pop-Up
As the 100% survivor option, but if your beneficiary dies first, your payment rises to the Maximum.
All tiers
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(e)(1); Handbook p. 3875% Pop-Up
As the 75% survivor option, with the pop-up to the Maximum. Not offered to Tier 3.
Only Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 4, Tier 5 and Tier 6
NYSTRS Regulations §§ 5014.1, 5014.2(e)(2)50% Pop-Up
As the 50% survivor option, with the pop-up to the Maximum.
All tiers
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.125% Pop-Up
As the 25% survivor option, with the pop-up to the Maximum. Not offered to Tier 3.
Only Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 4, Tier 5 and Tier 6
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.1Guarantee options
Payments for your life, guaranteed for a set number of years.
5-Year Guarantee
If you die within five years of retiring, your beneficiary gets your payment for the rest of the five years.
All tiers
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(b)(1); Handbook p. 3810-Year Guarantee
If you die within 10 years of retiring, your beneficiary gets your payment for the rest of the 10 years.
All tiers
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(b)(2); Handbook p. 38Lump sum options
Money set aside to be paid to your beneficiaries at your death.
Declining Reserve
If you die before receiving the present value of your retirement allowance at retirement, the balance goes to your beneficiary(ies). You may elect a 4% or 7% assumed interest rate; the reserve payable to beneficiaries is greater under 4%.
Only Tier 1
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(a)(1); Handbook p. 38; Maximum or an Option p. 4Annuity Reserve
Tier 1 or 2 members with member contributions only. The balance of your Annuity Reserve Fund is paid to your beneficiary(ies) if you die before you receive it yourself.
Only Tier 1 and Tier 2
NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(a)(2); Maximum or an Option p. 4; 2026 Benefit Profile insert p. 2Largest Non-Declining Lump Sum
You set aside a fixed lump sum, chosen at retirement, to be paid at your death; estimates show the cost per $1,000. All tiers except Tier 3 members retiring under Tier 3 (Article 14).
All tiers
Handbook p. 38; Maximum or an Option p. 4; 2026 Benefit Profile insert p. 2Alternative option
A custom variation NYSTRS can compute.
Alternative Option
Any reasonable variation of a lump sum, guarantee, survivor or pop-up option that can be computed actuarially. For Tier 3 it is a survivor benefit of 1% to 90% chosen at retirement.
All tiers
Handbook p. 38; NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.2(c)Things to know before you choose
Every option starts from your Maximum, which the calculator estimates from the pension formula. The choice also shapes what your family gets (see death and survivor benefits), while the COLA is figured on the Maximum whichever option you take.
- At retirement you choose the Maximum (largest payment to you for life, nothing to a beneficiary) or an option that pays a beneficiary at your death in exchange for a lower monthly payment.Handbook p. 37
- Options include lump sum options (Declining Reserve for Tier 1 only; Largest Non-Declining Lump Sum, not available to Tier 3 retiring under Article 14), 5- and 10-year guarantee options, survivor options (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%), pop-up survivor options, and an alternative option.Handbook p. 38; NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.1
- A pop-up option raises your payment to the Maximum if your beneficiary dies before you. The 75% and 25% pop-ups aren't offered to Tier 3.Handbook p. 38; NYSTRS Regulations § 5014.1
- By law you have only 30 days from your retirement date to change your choice; after that it is irrevocable. Your payments continue until your death no matter which you choose.Handbook pp. 37, 43
- Under the survivor options, a surviving spouse is eligible for 50% of the COLA the retiree would have received. The beneficiary's percentage may be limited if the beneficiary isn't your spouse and is more than 10 years younger.Handbook p. 38
- Check with NYSTRSNYSTRS doesn't publish its option factors, so option amounts aren't shown here. Your MyNYSTRS Pension Estimator, a NYSTRS consultation or a mailed estimate shows what each option would pay you.Maximum or an Option p. 4NYSTRS publishes no option factors; amounts depend on your age and your beneficiary's age. Use the MyNYSTRS Pension Estimator or a NYSTRS estimate (Options p. 4).
The rules in one placeBy law you have 30 days from your retirement date to change your choice; after that it is irrevocable. Option amounts come from actuarial factors that NYSTRS doesn't publish in these sources, so this site can't compute them. Under the survivor options, a surviving spouse is eligible for 50% of the COLA the retiree would have received. Survivor and pop-up percentages may be limited when the beneficiary is not your spouse and is more than 10 years younger. Survivor and pop-up amounts depend on your age and your beneficiary's age. Beneficiaries of eligible Tier 2-6 members may also get a one-time Paragraph 2 death benefit whichever choice you make.Handbook pp. 37-38, 43; Maximum or an Option pp. 2-3
Questions
How much less is a survivor option?
It depends on your age and your beneficiary's age. NYSTRS doesn't publish its option factors, so this site doesn't show dollar amounts. Your MyNYSTRS Pension Estimator or a NYSTRS estimate shows yours.
Can I change my choice after I retire?
Only within 30 days of your retirement date. After that it can't be changed.
Does my beneficiary get the COLA?
Under the survivor options, a surviving spouse is eligible for half of the COLA you would have received.
Source: NYSTRS Active Members' Handbook, Updated October 2026, pp. 37, 38, 43. Also: NYSTRS Regulations §§ 5014.1, 5014.2; Maximum or an Option pp. 2, 3, 4; 2026 Benefit Profile insert p. 2. Last reviewed .