Pre-Tax Contribution Program

The Pre-Tax Contribution Program (PTCP) is a voluntary program where your share of your health insurance cost (or the Opt-Out program) is deducted from your wages before taxes are withheld. This may lower your tax liability (the amount of tax you owe). In exchange for this reduction in your tax liability, you must have the same pre-tax health insurance deduction for the entire plan year. If you do not participate in PTCP, you may have greater flexibility to make changes to your NYSHIP coverage during the year.

You must choose to enroll in PTCP (or decline participation) when you are first eligible for health insurance benefits. To enroll you need to download and complete the Health Insurance Transaction Form (PS-404) and choose either "Elect Pre-Tax Status" or "Elect After-Tax Status." If no choice is made, the system will default to "After-Tax Status."

You can check your current status by looking at your paycheck. If you are enrolled you will have "Regular Before - Tax Health" in your deductions. If you are not enrolled you will see "Regular After-Tax Health" in your deductions.

If you are currently enrolled in PTCP you don't have to do anything to keep your current status. If you would like to make a change for next year, complete the form below and send it back to us. The program election period has recently changed and now runs concurrently with the Option Transfer period.