Everything you need to know, and what you'll collect in retirement.
Tier 2 means you were appointed between July 1, 1973 and June 30, 2009. Unofficial tool. Not affiliated with the FDNY or the NYC Fire Pension Fund. Your actual numbers may vary.
This is a work in progress and I'm happy to add what people want. Send your questions or suggestions.
How your Tier 2 pension works, in plain English. Tap any question to open it.
Yes, if you became a member of the Fire Pension Fund between July 1, 1973 and June 30, 2009. For almost everyone, that's your appointment date.
Appointed on or after July 1, 2009? You're in Tier 3, which has different rules: use the Tier 3 calculator. Members from before July 1, 1973 are Tier 1, whose benefits are generally the same as Tier 2.
Once you have 20 years on the job, you can retire at any age. Your pension is made of a few pieces added together:
Unlike Tier 3, there's no 50% cap: every year past 20 adds to your pension.
The calculators use what you earned in the 12 months before you retire, overtime, holiday pay and night differential included.
That's how the Pension Fund's own example counts the final year. We're still confirming the exact rule with the Fund, so treat these numbers as estimates and check your official estimate before you decide.
Add up everything you earn after your 20th anniversary and divide by 60. That amount is added to your yearly pension.
Example: you stay 5 years past 20 and earn $150,000 each year. That's $750,000, and 1/60th of it is $12,500 a year more pension, about $1,040 a month.
ITHP (Increased-Take-Home-Pay) is money the City pays into your pension account for you, currently 5% of your pay, so less comes out of your check. What the City pays in after 20 years, with interest, becomes an extra pension when you retire.
If you've paid in more than the required amount, for example by keeping your contributions going after 20 years, the extra can be paid as an annuity or taken as a lump sum. Withdrawals can be taxed, and there can be a 10% penalty if you're under 50.
Both depend on your own account. The personal calculator gives a rough estimate of the ITHP piece, and you can type in the exact number from your Fund estimate instead.
It's a setting that puts extra money into your pension account, on top of what's required: an additional 50% of your required contribution, taken from each paycheck. It's voluntary.
Example: if your required contribution is 2.5% of your pay, the 50% indicator adds about 1.25% more.
The calculators don't estimate this money. If your Fund estimate shows an annuity from it, add it in the "Your ITHP and annuity from the Fund" box in the personal calculator. Ask the Fund or a tax professional before taking a lump sum, especially if you're under 50.
Only a little. Tier 2 has no escalation. You get the COLA: half of inflation (between 1% and 3%) on the first $18,000 of your pension, about $270 a year when inflation is 3%.
It starts at age 62 once you've been retired 5 years, or at 55 once you've been retired 10 years.
The VSF (Variable Supplements Fund) pays $12,000 a year to members who retire for service with 20 or more years. It's paid around December 15 for UFA members and around January 31 for UFOA members.
The banked variable: for each full year you work past 20, one $12,000 payment is banked. You get it as a lump sum when you retire. For example, 5 extra years means $60,000.
Until you turn 62, any COLA you get is taken out of your VSF.
No. The Social Security offset at 62 is a Tier 3 rule. Your Tier 2 pension isn't reduced when you start Social Security.
An accident disability retirement (a "three-quarters") pays 75% of your final salary, at any length of service, plus 1/60th of your earnings after 20 years, plus pensions from your ITHP account and your own contributions.
It must be approved by the Pension Fund's Medical Board and Board of Trustees.
A service pension is subject to federal income tax but not New York State or New York City income tax.
For a 3/4s, see the answer above. If you move out of state, check that state's rules or ask a tax professional.
Health benefits come with collecting a pension, and they're only available while you're actually collecting one. Accident disability retirees get health insurance regardless of years of service.
For details, call Employee Health Benefits at the NYC Office of Labor Relations: 212-306-7390.
From the NYC Fire Pension Fund: 929-436-0099. On e-UPS, from any firehouse computer, you can download your Annual Pension Statement and get a current estimate of your pension.
This site is an unofficial planning tool. It isn't affiliated with the FDNY or the Pension Fund, and your actual numbers may vary. Confirm with the Fund before you make retirement decisions.
Your numbers are saved only on your own phone or computer, so they're still there next time. They're never sent anywhere. To erase them, tap "Clear my numbers" at the bottom of the personal calculator.
The only thing that ever leaves your device is a question or suggestion you choose to send from the home page.
Pension: 50% of final salary at 20+ years of uniformed service, plus 1/60th of total earnings after the 20th anniversary, plus a pension from ITHP contributions made after 20 years with interest, plus an annuity from any contributions above the required amount. Source: the Fire Pension Fund's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal 2025 (summary of Tier I and II benefits).
Final salary: the calculators use earnings in the 12 months before retirement, overtime included, following the Fund's example of how the final year is counted. The Fund's summary doesn't define final salary, and Chapter 372 of the Laws of 2000 revised the Tier 2 salary base; we haven't confirmed the exact rule. The personal calculator splits calendar-year earnings evenly by month to estimate those 12 months.
1/60th: the personal calculator adds up your earnings from your 20th anniversary to retirement, splitting calendar years evenly by month. The quick calculator assumes you earn about your final salary in each year past 20.
ITHP estimate: the City's 5% of pay after your 20th anniversary, credited 8.25% interest a year until you retire, then paid out evenly to age 85 assuming 7% interest. On a 3/4s it uses your whole career in the table. The Fund's real conversion uses its own tables, so this is rough. If you type the amount from your Fund estimate, that's used instead. Extra contributions you've made aren't estimated; type them in with the ITHP amount if your estimate shows them.
Your earnings: imported numbers come from the Medicare Wages column of your NYCAPS Tax Summary: all taxable pay, overtime included. That's close to what the Pension Fund counts, but not exact; it can include pay the Fund leaves out, such as uniform allowance. Future years repeat your last known year unless you choose a yearly raise.
COLA: no escalation. Half of inflation (1% to 3%) on the first $18,000 only, starting at age 62 after 5 years retired, or age 55 after 10 years retired. The COLA reduces the VSF until 62.
VSF and banked variable: service retirees with 20+ years get the VSF, $12,000 a year. Each year worked past 20 banks one VSF payment, paid as a lump sum at retirement.
Social Security: no offset. The Fund's summary lists the offset only for Tier 3.
3/4s disability: 75% of final salary with no minimum service, plus 1/60th of earnings after 20 years, plus a pension from the ITHP reserve and an annuity from your accumulated contributions. No VSF or banked variable. The COLA starts after 5 years retired, regardless of age. The calculators estimate the ITHP piece only; type your Fund estimate to include your contributions.
Not included: retirement options that reduce the pension for a survivor, taxes, loans and account shortages, other credited service (1/80th), ordinary (non-line-of-duty) disability, vested retirement, and Tier 1 rules.
Enter your final salary and your years on the job. That's it.
Use your real earnings to see what you'll collect, and what working longer gets you. Your numbers stay on this device.
Your pension comes from what you earn in your last 12 months and after your 20th anniversary. Pick one way to give us your numbers.
Take a screenshot of the whole table. If the Medicare Wages column is cut off, turn your phone sideways first. The picture is read on your phone and never uploaded anywhere.
These are the Medicare Wages for each year. Fix anything that's off, then lock them in. Once locked, they can't be changed.
| Year | Earnings | Counts toward |
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Swipe the table to see your plan →