In general, service with a public employer in New York State or New York City may be eligible for prior service credit in TRS.

If you are a Tier III, IV, or VI member, you may be able to request a Cost Letter online in the secure section of our website (if you have verified service credit available to purchase). You may instead submit a paper Cost Letter Request Form (code SB64) to claim service. TRS will verify the service with your former employer and notify you of the cost. (Prior service with the New York City Department of Education (DOE) does not need to be claimed because the DOE sends TRS regular work history updates for most titles. We will contact you separately about prior DOE service you have available for crediting.)

If you are a Tier I or II member, you may request credit for prior service by contacting our Member Services Center at 1 (888) 8-NYC-TRS and requesting a personalized Record of Prior Service form (code SB146).

TRS must receive any claim for prior service credit before your retirement date. However, claiming and purchasing prior service credit sooner rather than later would prevent additional interest from accruing and increasing the cost.

Please note that, if you are in the process of transferring your membership to TRS, you should not request prior service credit until the transfer is complete.