Tag Archives: Federal Taxes

Retirees: Your 1099-R is Available Online

Retirees: Your 1099-R is Available OnlineTax season is approaching, and with 1099-Rs available online, getting this key NYSLRS tax form is now faster and more convenient than ever.

Most NYSLRS pensions are subject to federal income tax (some disability benefits are not taxable). If you receive taxable income from NYSLRS, we provide a 1099-R tax form for filing your taxes. New this year, retirees who opted to go paperless received an email notifying them their 1099-R is available in their Retirement Online account. If you did not change your delivery preference to email, your 1099-R tax form will be mailed to you by January 31.

Understanding Your 1099-R

A 1099-R tax form is used to report the distribution of taxable retirement benefits. It shows:

  • The total benefit paid to you in a calendar year.
  • The taxable amount of your benefit.
  • The amount of taxes withheld from your benefit.

If you have questions about the information on the form, check our interactive 1099-R tutorial. It walks you through a sample 1099-R and offers a short explanation of each box on the form.

Get Your 1099-R Online Now

Whether you chose email delivery or not, you can access your 1099-R in your Retirement Online account now. To view, save or print your 1099-R:

  • Sign in to Retirement Online.
  • From your Account Homepage, click the “Manage My 1099-R Tax Forms” button.
  • Select “2023” from the dropdown.

If you don’t have an account, you can find step-by-step instructions for registering in the Tools & Tips section of the Retirement Online page.

Changing Your Federal Withholding

After you file your taxes, you may find that you need to adjust the federal taxes that are being withheld from your pension.

Retirement Online is the fast and convenient way to change your withholding information. You can also check your current withholding by signing in to Retirement Online and viewing your most recent pension pay stub. Visit our Taxes and Your Pension page for more information.

Note: New York State doesn’t tax your NYSLRS pension, and we can’t withhold income tax for other states.

Taxes After Retirement

Estimating your post-retirement expenses is crucial to effective retirement planning, and it’s important to remember that taxes are also part of that equation. Most retirees pay less in taxes than when they were working, partly because their incomes are lower. But there are other reasons why your tax burden may be lighter after you stop working.

taxes after retirement

New York State Taxes

As a NYSLRS retiree, your pension will not be subject to New York State or local income tax. New York doesn’t tax Social Security benefits, either.

You may also get a tax break on any distributions from retirement savings, such as deferred compensation, and benefits from a private-sector pension. Find out more on the Department of Taxation and Finance website.

Be aware that you could lose these tax breaks if you move out of New York. Many states tax pensions, and some tax Social Security. For information on tax laws in other states, visit the website of the Retired Public Employees Association.

Federal Taxes

Unfortunately, most of your retirement income will be subject to federal taxes, but there are some bright spots here.

Your Social Security benefits are likely to be taxed, but at most, you’ll only pay taxes on a portion of your benefits. You can find information about it on the Social Security Administration website. (If you’re already retired, use the Social Security Benefits Worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions to see if any of your benefits are taxable.)

Throughout your working years, you’ve paid payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare. For most workers, that’s 6.2 percent (Social Security) and 1.45 percent (Medicare) of your gross earnings out of every paycheck. But Social Security and Medicare taxes are only withheld from earned income, such as wages. Pensions, Social Security benefits and retirement savings distributions are exempt from Social Security taxes. Of course, if you get a paying job after retirement, Social Security and Medicare taxes will be deducted from your paycheck.

Once you turn 65, you may be able to claim a larger standard deduction on your federal tax return.

To better understand how your retirement income will be taxed, it may be helpful to speak with a tax adviser.