When an employee joins the Retirement System, he or she is assigned to a tier based on the date of membership. There are six tiers in the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) and five in the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS).

A member’s tier determines:

• Eligibility for benefits;
• The formula used in the calculation of benefits;
• Death benefit coverage;
• Service crediting;
• Whether the member must contribute toward benefits; and
• Eligibility for loans.

ERS Members

Tier	Date of Membership	Registration Number
1	Before July 1, 1973	0000001-x to 1299999-x and 2000000-x to 2999999-x
2	July 1, 1973 through July 26, 1976	1300000-x to 1999999-x
3	July 27, 1976 through August 31, 1983	3000000-x to 4999999-x
4	September 1, 1983 through December 31, 2009	3000000-x to 4999999-x
5	January 1, 2010 through March 31, 2012	5000000-x to 5999999-x
6	April 1, 2012 or after	6000000-x and up

There are no Tier 4 New York State correction officers or security hospital treatment assistants. Those who joined July 27, 1976 through December 31, 2009 are Tier 3 members; those who joined January 1, 2010 through March 31, 2012 are Tier 5 members; and those who joined April 1, 2012 and after are Tier 6 members.

PFRS Members

Tier	Date of Membership	Registration Number
1	Before July 31, 1973	0A00001-x to 0A44999-x
2	July 31, 1973 through June 30, 2009	0A45000-x to 0A99109-x and 0B00001-x to 0B19999-x
3	July 1, 2009 through January 8, 2010*	0B20000-x to 0B29999-x
There is no Tier 4 in the Police and Fire Retirement System.
5	January 9, 2010 through March 31, 2012	0B50000-x to 0B59999-x
6	April 1, 2012 or after	0B60000-x and up
*PFRS members who joined July 1, 2009 through January 8, 2010 and did not elect to be covered by Article 22 (opt into Tier 5), can be covered by Article 11 or Article 14 benefits, depending on their retirement plan election.