How to Fill Out and Submit the NYCERS Direct Deposit Form 380-1

NYCERS Direct Deposit Form 380-1 is the paper authorization that routes your monthly New York City pension into a bank account instead of a mailed check. To use it, fill in your NYCERS and banking details, attach a voided check or a copy of your bank statement, sign it in front of a notary, and mail it to NYCERS in Long Island City. If you’d rather skip paper and notarization, you can set up the same thing through the Online EFT Service on the MyNYCERS portal.

Online Option Before You Reach for the Paper Form

The Online EFT Service at mynycers.nycers.org verifies your identity and bank account automatically, so no printing, signing, or notary is involved. NYCERS recommends it as the primary method, and it’s the faster route when it works.¹

Use the paper Form 380-1 if the online verification can’t confirm your identity, if you hit an error during the online process, or if you simply prefer paper. Download it at nycers.org or request a copy by calling (347) 643-3000.¹

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Gather everything before you sit down. Coming back to hunt for a routing number after you’ve already signed will cost you a trip to the notary.

Your NYCERS member or pensioner number, which appears on NYCERS correspondence and your pension pay stub.
Your Social Security number.
Your bank’s nine-digit routing number and your account number. Both appear on checks and on most bank statements.
One piece of bank documentation to attach: a preprinted personal check, a preprinted savings deposit slip, or a copy of the top portion of your checking or savings account bank statement. Your name must appear on the document and must match your name in NYCERS records exactly.²
Access to a notary public or commissioner of deeds. An unnotarized form will be rejected.

If your bank no longer issues preprinted checks or deposit slips, a copy of the top portion of your bank statement works for either a checking or a savings account.²

Filling Out the Form

The form is one page of fields with a second page of conditions. Work through it top to bottom.

Personal Information

Enter your full name as it appears in NYCERS records, your Social Security number, your NYCERS member or pensioner number, and your current mailing address. If your name has changed since retirement and you haven’t updated it with NYCERS, do that first. A name mismatch between NYCERS records and your bank account is one of the most common reasons the form gets kicked back.²

Banking Information

Write the name of your bank, the nine-digit routing number, and your account number. Check the box for either checking or savings. NYCERS will not split your pension between two accounts, so pick one.² Your bank must be a member of the Automated Clearing House network. Virtually all U.S. banks and credit unions are, but confirm with a small or specialized institution before you submit.

Attaching Your Bank Document

The form has a designated area to tape or staple your bank documentation. If you’re attaching a personal check or deposit slip, write “VOID” in large letters across the face. Do not sign the check. A signed check could be cashed, and NYCERS will reject the submission.² If you’re attaching a bank statement, only the top portion showing your name, account number, and routing number is needed.

Getting the Form Notarized

Form 380-1 must be acknowledged before a notary public or commissioner of deeds. Signing it at your kitchen table is not enough.² The notary confirms your identity, watches you sign, and completes the acknowledgment section, including their official title, commission expiration date, state, and county. If the notary has an official seal, they affix it.

In New York, notaries can charge up to $2.00 per notarial act, so the cost is minimal. You’ll find notaries at most banks, UPS stores, law offices, and some libraries, and many banks offer the service free to account holders. Do not sign the form beforehand. The whole point of the notarization is that the notary witnesses the signature.

Where to Send It

Mail the notarized form and attached bank documentation to:

New York City Employees’ Retirement System
30-30 47th Avenue, 10th Floor
Long Island City, NY 11101³

Do not send it to the Brooklyn executive offices at 335 Adams Street. That address is NYCERS’ administrative headquarters, not the mailing address for forms. Certified mail gives you a tracking number and proof of delivery, which is worth the few extra dollars if a form gets lost in transit. You can also upload the signed and notarized form through the MyNYCERS portal’s document upload feature.

Questions before submitting go to NYCERS’ call center at (347) 643-3000 or toll-free at (877) 669-2377.³

When Your First Deposit Arrives

Once NYCERS processes your form and confirms your account details, direct deposit begins with the first open payroll period after processing is complete.¹ During the transition, you may still receive your pension as a paper check mailed to your home address.⁴ Watch both your mailbox and your bank account during this window so you don’t miss a payment. Once the full pension amount lands in your bank account on a scheduled payment date, the switch is complete. You can also confirm the change in the MyNYCERS portal.

Why Forms Get Rejected

NYCERS will return the form unprocessed if any of the following apply.²

The name on your bank document doesn’t match your name in NYCERS records exactly. Even a middle initial present on one but missing on the other can trigger a rejection.
The form wasn’t acknowledged before a notary, or the notary section is incomplete (missing seal, expiration date, or county).
You forgot to attach a voided check, deposit slip, or bank statement.
You signed the check you attached instead of writing VOID across it.
Your financial institution isn’t a member of the Automated Clearing House network.
You tried to split the pension between two accounts.

Each rejection costs you another mail cycle. Double-checking the name match and the notary section before you seal the envelope saves the most time.

Changing or Canceling Later

If you switch banks or need to update your account number, you can make the change through the Online EFT Service on MyNYCERS or submit a new paper Form 380-1 with the updated banking information.¹ The new deposit starts with the first open payroll period after NYCERS processes the update. Don’t close your old bank account until a pension payment has landed in the new one. If the old account is closed before the switch takes effect, the payment could bounce and you’ll be waiting for a replacement check.

To cancel direct deposit and return to paper checks, call NYCERS at (347) 643-3000 for current instructions.³

1
New York City Employees’ Retirement System. EFT Terms and Conditions
2
TWU Local 106. NYCERS Direct Deposit Form 380-1
3
NYCERS. Contact
4
NYC Office of Labor Relations. Road to Retirement Resource Guide