The State University of New York (SUNY) provides employees with the opportunity to save for their retirement through the SUNY Voluntary 403(b) Savings Plan. Participation in the SUNY Voluntary Savings Plan is a great way to build your retirement savings through pre-tax or post-tax payroll deduction contributions.

Whether you want to enroll in the plan for the first time or you are already enrolled but wish to change the amount of your deferral, you can do so through the SUNY "Retirement At Work" online enrollment and management system. For more information, please call the Employee Benefits Office at (716) 878-4821 or visit the SUNY Benefits website.

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Eligibility
All employees of SUNY who receive compensation reportable on an IRS form W-2 are eligible to participate in the plan.

Please take a moment to review the plan materials before enrolling. Once you are enrolled, you can review and change the amount of your contributions as often as once per pay period, in accordance with campus payroll deadlines for submitting changes, through the SUNY "Retirement At Work" online enrollment and management system.

The exact date that your investment allocations will take effect may vary depending on payroll system deadlines and the policies of the investment provider you chose for plan contributions.

In addition to the SUNY 403(b) Plan, the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (NYSDCP) also provides a way for you to contribute to a retirement account on both a pre-tax (traditional) and post-tax (Roth) basis through payroll deduction.

Through the pre-tax options (traditional), your contributions plus earnings are not taxed until you withdraw the funds. Distributions are considered ordinary income for tax purposes.

Through the post-tax (Roth) option, your contributions are taxed at the time you make them. Earnings are income tax-free upon qualified distribution if you are 59-1/2 (for the 403(b) plan) or separated from service (for both 403(b) and 457 plans) and it has been at least five taxable years since the initial Roth deposit.

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How Much Can I Contribute?
For 2025, you can contribute up to $23,500 per year. If you are age 50 or older anytime in 2025, you can contribute an additional $7,500, for a maximum of $31,000.

Each participant is limited to these maximum contribution amounts for all 403(b) and 457 plans, respectively. SUNY employees are able to maximize contributions to both the SUNY 403(b) Plan and the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (457) concurrently; however, if you also participate in a 403(b) or 457 plan with another employer, you are responsible for tracking and reporting the amount of all of your contributions to the plans so that the total amount of all your annual contributions to all plans in which you participate does not exceed the limit. Deferred Compensation (457) plans may also offer, for eligible participants, the Special Retirement Catch-up Provision for contributions within three years of your elected normal retirement age.

A special limit may apply to your contributions if you “control” (meaning you have more than a 50 percent ownership interest) in another business and you participate in its retirement plan. In determining the annual limit for all contributions described above, you must include all contributions made on your behalf under any defined contribution plans maintained by the other business that you control. You are required to inform the Benefits Office if this situation applies to you. Failure to do so can result in adverse tax consequences to you.

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What Are My Savings Options?
There are several plan options and investment providers to choose from through the SUNY 403(b) Plan. NYS Deferred Compensation Plan also offers its own investment options. Authorized investment providers offer a wide choice of investment options, including stock, bond, and guaranteed funds. Each provider offers individual counseling and assistance on investment information and can review the pre- and post-tax contribution options to best meet your retirement planning needs.

The following authorized plans and investment providers are available to you within the SUNY 403(b) Plan:

Corebridge Financial (formerly, AIG Retirement Services)
(800) 448-2542 or (888) 569-7055
https://www.corebridgefinancial.com/rs/suny/home

Fidelity Investments (403(b)(7) Mutual Funds)
(844) FOR-SUNY (844) 367-7869
www.netbenefits.com/SUNY

Teachers Insurance Annuity Associate (TIAA)
(800) 662-7945
www.tiaa.org/suny

Voya Financial
(800) 584-6001
https://suny.beready2retire.com/

NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (457)
(800) 422-8463
www.nysdcp.com

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What Do I Need to Do?
If you wish to enroll or change your enrollment in the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (NYSDCP), you must contact NYSDCP directly.

If you are currently enrolled and wish to contribute the same biweekly amount in 2025, no action on your part is necessary unless you are currently contributing additional moneys under the “age 50” rule outlined above. Please check your pay stub to be sure your current biweekly contribution for 403(b) deductions with any investment providers with whom you are investing multiplied by the number of remaining pay periods in the year does not exceed the allowable limit. Please be mindful that if you made a change mid-year, you must make sure that your current biweekly amount will result in the correct annual amount you want deferred for 2025.

To change the amount you are now contributing, please use the SUNY "Retirement At Work" online enrollment and management system. For assistance with this process or if you have questions, please contact the Benefits Office.

Submitted in The Daily on 4/7/2025

The collective bargaining agreements between the State of New York and CSEA, PBANYS, NYSCOPBA, PEF, and UUP allow for waiver of holiday compensation. Employees may notify the Payroll Office in writing between April 2 and May 15, 2025, of their selection to waive holiday pay in favor of compensatory time off for holidays worked. The waiver will be in effect until at least April 1, 2026. Conversely, employees may also elect to revoke any waiver of holiday pay now in effect by filing the election form with the Payroll Office by close of business on May 15, 2025.

• Classified

• UUP

  A form only needs to be submitted if making a change to the election currently in effect.

  For questions and to submit the form, please contact the Payroll Office at payroll@buffalostate.edu.

  Submitted in The Daily April 2, 2025

The State of New York/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committees have announced that $50,359.45 has been allocated to SUNY Buffalo State for Individual Development Awards for the new program period of July 2, 2024, through July 1, 2025.
This award program is intended to assist employees in the UUP bargaining unit in developing their full professional potential and preparing for advancement by funding professional development activities. Information on eligibility requirements, types of projects or activities funded, funding priorities, and expenditure limitations along with the application and instructions are available on the Human Resource Management website.
The maximum amount that can be awarded for each employee under this program is $2,000. Employees may be funded for up to two projects or activities, not to exceed a total of $2,000. The funded activity must take place between July 2, 2024, and July 1, 2025. 
Applications for this award period must be received at uupida@buffalostate.edu no later than April 7, 2025. Award notifications will be sent by email on or around July 1, 2025.
Individual Development Awards committee members are Lisa Marie Anselmi and Jude Jayatilleke representing UUP, and Erika Grande and Charles Lyons representing management. If you have any questions regarding the awards, please email uupida@buffalostate.edu.

Any employees who have been inactive on the State payroll for more than two pay periods will have their direct deposit deactivated by the Office of the State Comptroller. Employees returning who had direct deposit in previously semesters and whose information has not changed must request reactivation by submitting the Direct Deposit Reactivation Request Form via e-mail to the Payroll Office.

Buffalo State University participates in the New York State Direct Deposit Program. Through this program, employees may choose to have their net salary partially or entirely deposited directly, via electronic funds transfer, with any financial institution that can receive transactions through the automated clearinghouse system. To enroll, please bring completed original Direct Deposit Form to the Payroll Office in Cleveland Hall 408.

Please share this message with your returning students as well.

Posted in The Daily 8/31/2023

The program has been extended through June 30, 2024. While the SUNY program will continue through June 30, 2024, extensions of telecommuting arrangements for Buffalo State employees are not automatic. Employees must request extensions of their existing plans or apply for new plans. All telecommuting arrangements must be reviewed and approved by the employee’s immediate supervisor or manager, the department head or dean, the division leader, and senior campus leadership.

Requesting an Extension of a Telecommuting Plan
Please discuss your request with your supervisor and submit the SUNY Telecommuting Program Application and Work Plan, checking the box labeled “Application for Renewal.” Your plan should be updated at this time to reflect any operational changes. While your request is being reviewed for approval, your existing plan will remain in effect. The Human Resource Management Office will notify you of the outcome of the review process for an extension.

Requesting a New Telecommuting Plan
Please discuss your request with your supervisor and submit the Telecommuting Program Application and Work Plan, checking the box labeled “New Application.” New telecommuting work arrangements must not commence until they receive final written approval. The Human Resource Management Office will notify you when the arrangement can begin. Employees approved to participate in the telecommuting program must complete and submit to their supervisors biweekly progress reports describing work completed while telecommuting. The Human Resource Management Office may, at any time, request these reports to ensure compliance with the program.

Please note the following program highlights:

• All telecommuting work arrangements are subject to advance approval.
• This program supports employees whose work does not require in-person student or constituent service delivery and interaction, including classroom presence.
• This program uses a set schedule during each pay period. It is not appropriate for “as needed” telecommuting arrangements.
• Telecommuting is limited to no more than 50 percent of a pay period.
• Telecommuting arrangements may be terminated at any time by the supervisor for operational reasons, or because the telecommuting employee does not complete the required progress reports.
• Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that the work described in the telecommuting plan is being done, and that the needs of the department are being met while the plan is in place.

Visit the Telecommuting Program for more information for employees and supervisors. 

Please contact the Human Resource Management Office with questions about the program.

In any fiscal year in which February 29th falls, the Office of the State Comptroller automatically adjusts salaried employees' biweekly salary calculations based on 366 days in the fiscal year. Salaried employees paid on a calendar year basis will see a change in their biweekly gross earnings beginning with the September 27, 2023 paycheck. 

The definition of calendar year and the leap year and non-leap year salary calculation is posted at Payroll FAQs and noted below. 

Questions may be directed to the Payroll Office via email at payroll@buffalostate.edu or by phone at 716-878-4124.

Pay Modes - Calendar (CAL) 
Use for faculty with academic year obligations paid over 12 months.  The normal appointment year or payroll obligation dates for faculty is 9/1/xx – 8/31/xx.  The faculty academic year obligation is determined each year by the President.  (26 pay periods)

Why is there a discrepancy between my gross annual earnings and my annual base salary?

Since a fiscal year cannot be divided equally into bi-weekly periods, computation of the bi-weekly wage is made by dividing the annual salary by the number of calendar days in the fiscal year (365 or in the case of a leap year, 366) and multiplying this result by fourteen, the number of calendar days in a bi-weekly period. To reduce this process to one step, the fractions 14/365 and 14/366 are converted to multiplication factors: .038356 (non-leap year) and .038251 (leap year).

Normally, there are 26 pay periods during a calendar year. Due to the idiosyncrasies in the calendar and the State's payroll cycle, State employees occasionally receive 27 paychecks in a calendar year, instead of 26. When this occurs, the employee's gross annual earnings will be higher than the annual salary.

Message from the President

Every Buffalo State University employee plays a valuable and critical role in helping us fulfill our mission to serve our students, faculty, and staff in addition to our surrounding community to the best of our ability. Our supervisors have the added responsibility of providing honest, constructive, and specific feedback to their staff members to affirm successful goal accomplishment and to address any performance issues that require attention. I also expect supervisors to provide positive, collegial, and respectful commentary where appropriate to motivate and encourage excellence in performance.  

Performance evaluations, goal setting, and accountability are a primary responsibility of every supervisor, and it is my expectation that they be completed each year for all employees. Supervisors and employees should be aware that fulfilling this important responsibility will be considered in decisions to award discretionary increases when available, promotions, and other personnel actions.

Our campus has performance evaluation systems in place that are intended to clarify job expectations, encourage, and support professional development, provide quality feedback, and foster continuous constructive and communication between the supervisor and the employee on performance throughout the year.

Supervisors will use the process and forms available on the Human Resource Management website and consult with Human Resource Management if you have any questions on the process or need advice on addressing performance issues.

Posted in The Daily 9/5/2023

Human Resource Management is pleased to announce a Phased Retirement Program for eligible academic and professional employees. The program provides an opportunity for a phased approach to retirement, allowing employees to transition into retirement gradually, with a reduction in workload or obligation and commensurate reduction in pay. The program is voluntary and optional.

Program details, including eligibility requirements, the application, and the intent to resign for retirement template letter, are available on the Human Resource Management website.

Eligible employees should discuss the program with their chair or head of their department. Participation in the program is subject to review and approval of the President.

Please contact Human Resource Management with questions.

Posted in The Daily on 2/2/2023