NYS Retirement and Public Libraries: FAQs and Myths

QUESTION 1

I am currently the director of a municipal library, but I have many years in the NYS system and am fully vested from my previous job. I am not able to get the municipality to submit my hours, as I am not an employee of the town. Is there anything I can do about this?

ANSWER 1

A good first place to start may be with the New York State & Local Retirement System’s (NYSLRS) mechanism for addressing this type of situation: https://www.osc.ny.gov/retirement/members/get-credit-all-your-public-service

That said, any time a library employee has a question regarding personal retirement, it is worth it to consult a personal lawyer with experience in NYS retirement matters. The stakes and intricacies of retirement law and regulations make such input essential.

While an employee has many options for self-advocacy, a municipal public library will have options, too. Section 30(c) of the NYS Retirement & Social Security Law requires:

c. Participation by a municipality pursuant to this section shall cover all agencies of the government of such municipality including the free public library, if any, of such municipality, unless separate participation by any such agency or school district public library has been approved pursuant to section thirty-one, thirty-one-a or thirty-two of this article. [emphasis added]

In other words, the municipality should not feel like it has the option to just kick your library to the curb when it comes to NYS Retirement!

This is not an optional clause; it is a requirement.

Of course, just because something is legal doesn’t mean people automatically follow the law. We’ll discuss this more in the answers below.

One wrinkle posed by the scenario in this question is: this problem cannot be solved for just one employee. When the library corrects this issue, it must correct it for all employees. For that reason (and many others) the board may want to review this with the library’s attorney.[1]

QUESTION 2

Our school district public library is eligible for NYS Retirement but has not yet opted in. We currently receive NYS Retirement through our school district. What would the process of transitioning our library employees from receiving retirement through the school, to receiving retirement from the library look like?

ANSWER 2

The process would look a tad complicated, but it’s nothing a library couldn’t handle. Here’s the law on that:

§ 31-a. Participation by school district public libraries
a. A school district public library, by resolution legally adopted by its board of trustees, may elect to become a participating employer in the retirement system, separate and distinct from the school district. Acceptance of the school district public library as a participating employer in the retirement system shall be mandatory with the comptroller.

While it sounds like “passing a resolution” to become a participating employer is a first step, I usually suggest the board first pass a resolution to adopt an “implementation plan” like this:

FIRST RESOLUTION [Remember: only for school district public libraries!]

WHEREAS the library is currently participating in the New York State and Local Retirement System via the school district;

WHEREAS under New York State Retirement and Social Security Law Section 31-a, a school district library may elect to become a separately participating employer; and

WHEREAS the library would like to explore this possibility and ensure that the decision to become a separately participating employer is within the budget and capacity of the library;

BE IT RESOLVED that the director shall contact the Office of the State Comptroller to discuss the steps to becoming a participating employer;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the treasurer [and director] shall prepare for the consideration of this board a memorandum regarding the fiscal responsibility and any necessary changes to current practices to become a participating employer; and

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the board shall review reports on these tasks at its next meeting and take further appropriate action.

After that, the board can use resolutions to explore a properly planned and supported implementation process.

This educates board members that the process is not as simple as “adopting a resolution” and alerts them that there will budget and policy decisions to come. It also ensures that the board is giving clear instructions to the director (and treasurer/fiscal officer).

Once that is done, and the resulting review is completed by the board, the board can consider a SECOND RESOLUTION:

WHEREAS the library is currently participating in the New York State & Local Retirement System via the school district;

WHEREAS under New York State Retirement & Social Security Law Section 31-a, a school district library may elect to become a separately participating employer; and

WHEREAS the board, exploring this possibility, has reviewed a report on the resources and actions needed to make this transition;

BE IT RESOLVED that

[considering the resources needed, the Library shall NOT make such a transition at this time]

OR

[the library director and treasurer shall develop an implementation plan and resolution for the Library to be a participating employer by DATE].

If the resolution is to go ahead with a plan to become a participating employer in New York State Retirement, a third and (yes) fourth resolution[2] can document the board’s decision to take that next step.

THIRD RESOLUTION [Remember: only for school district public libraries!]

WHEREAS the library is currently participating in the New York State and Local Retirement System via the school district;

WHEREAS under New York State Retirement & Social Security Law Section 31-a, a school district library may elect to become a separately participating employer; and

WHEREAS the board, exploring this possibility, has developed a plan make this transition effective as of DATE;

BE IT RESOLVED that the Library elects to become a participant in the New York State and Local Retirement System; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the board directs the Library Director and Treasurer to implement the plan developed for such participation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this board shall amend any fiscal policies and procedures needing adjustment prior to the effective date of such participation.

With the decision to become a participating employer made, the board can then direct the director, treasurer, and others to take the steps needed to effect a proper implementation:

FOURTH RESOLUTION [Remember: only for school district public libraries!]

WHEREAS the Library will be a participating employer in the New York State and Local Retirement System effective DATE;

BE IT RESOLVED that the following amendments and/or additional fiscal policies and procedures, [and revision of the employee handbook] are approved to be effective on the date of such participation.

And that’s it!

QUESTION 3

Are there any laws/legal references that require school districts to offer state retirement to school district public library staff on behalf of the school district public library if the school district public library opts out of state retirement?

ANSWER 3

YES; see NYS Retirement & Social Security Law Section 31-a, above. Just like a municipality, a school district must offer NYS Retirement enrollment to its school district public library, unless the library separately enrolls as a “participating employer.”

QUESTION 4

For public libraries that do offer retirement through their municipality, should there be a MOU in place? What does that look like?

ANSWER 4

Because inclusion of the library employees should happen automatically, a memorandum of agreement, contract, or other agreement is not required for this to happen, but because of the impact of turnover and “political factors,” it is wise to have at the very least a regular exchange of emails that confirm how the process is coordinated.

Just as effective as an MOU—and not requiring signature or assent from the municipality—is a board-approved policy for offering and administering NYS Retirement. This can be shared with the municipality annually, with a request that they send any points for refinement.

A policy governing NYS Retirement should address:

• Provisions in the HR Handbook or Employee Manual (eligibility, enrollment, contributions, retirement);
• Who the participating employer is (in this question, a municipality);
• How NYS Retirement contributions are sent in (is the municipality reimbursed by the library, does the library pay directly, does the municipality simply cover it?);
• Approval of payments by the board, and how often the board approves the vouchers for the payments; and
• Record-keeping.

QUESTION 5

Hold on. If “inclusion of the library employees should happen automatically” at municipal libraries per Section 30-C, what if the library doesn’t WANT to participate? And what if their municipality doesn’t participate? Can the library just go rogue?

ANSWER 5

New York State Retirement & Social Security Law defines a “participating employer” as “[a]ny municipality, library, or public or quasi-public organization participating in the retirement system.” This means all types of public libraries[3] can be participants.

Section 31 provides:

a. Any public or quasi-public organization created wholly or partly or deriving its powers by the legislature of the state and which organization employs persons engaged in service to the public or any state agency as defined in section fifty-three-a of the state finance law, or the New York state association of town superintendents of highways, inc. or any school board association, by resolution legally adopted by its governing body and approved by the comptroller, may elect to have its officers and employees become eligible to participate in the retirement system. Acceptance of the officers and employees of such an employer for membership in the retirement system shall be optional with the comptroller. If he shall approve their participation, such organization, except as specifically provided in this article to the contrary, shall thereafter be treated as a participating employer. Any election made pursuant to this subdivision by a school board association shall be applicable to current employees of such association.

Section 30-C states:

c. Participation by a municipality pursuant to this section shall cover all agencies of the government of such municipality including the free public library, if any, of such municipality, unless separate participation by any such agency or school district public library has been approved pursuant to section thirty-one, thirty-one-a or thirty-two of this article. [emphasis added]

So, the law provides two ways for municipal libraries to participate: either through their municipality, or as a separate “participating employer” approved by the New York State Comptroller.

What the law doesn’t address is: what happens if a municipal public library doesn’t want to participate, and its municipality does? There is no case law or advisory authority on this, but the plain language of the law suggests that it’s impossible—if the municipality is in, so is the library. This is true even if the payroll is administered by the library.

The good news is that even if a municipality elects not to participate, its local municipal library has a way to!

DISCLAIMER: Experience shows that a municipal library participating on its own is usual and that it may be met with resistance when setting things up. The key is to be intentional (have a plan for enrolling) and to be calm in the face of any potential roadblocks. Be ready for the team at NYSLRS to find it odd if a municipal library decides to go it alone and call in backup.[4]

That said, there are municipal libraries listed as separate participating employers (Salamanca Public Library, for just one example), so be ready to make a strong case.

QUESTION 6

Does participation by the employer mean the employees (who are “members” of NYS Retirement) can get not only a retirement account, but the State’s Deferred Compensation benefit?

ANSWER 6

The NYS Deferred Compensation Plan is a separate benefit from NYS Retirement, but if an employer signs up to participate, employees can become members of that, too. More info on that is at https://www.nysdcp.com/rsc-web-preauth/Images/Administrative-Manual_tcm90-5531.pdf.

BONUS INFO

Remember that if there is a union contract, any changes to employee benefits, including retirement, might be a part of collective bargaining. No changes should be made without due consideration of a collective bargaining agreement.

To explore becoming a NYSLRS participating employer, visit: https://www.osc.ny.gov/retirement/employers/partnership/becoming-participating-employer and https://web.osc.state.ny.us/retire/retirement_online/how-to.php.

To look for nearby libraries that have made the change to “enhanced reporting” (as in, they really know what they’re doing) check out the list at: https://web.osc.state.ny.us/retire/retirement_online/word_and_pdf_documents/gold-certified-employers.pdf.

Because we created it to answer these questions, below is a list of the libraries we extracted, which should be current as of April 29, 2025.

Employees should be encouraged to use the benefit, even if they can opt out. The NYSLRS has a good “fundamentals” sheet on financial literacy:

https://nyretirementnews.com/financial-literacy-and-retirement/

Thanks for a great array of questions!

List of public libraries as distinct participating employers: