Program Highlights to Help Balance Work, Home, and Life

DIRECTIONS: Pre-Retirement Seminars/Webinars

• DIRECTIONS: Pre-Retirement seminars/webinars are offered throughout the State from March through June and September through December.
• Each agency has a liaison who enrolls employees as employees cannot enroll themselves. Agency liaisons are listed on the website at https://goer.ny.gov/directions-pre-retirement-seminar-contact-information.
• Employees are allowed to attend if they are at least 50 years of age and eligible to retire within five years.
• Employees may only attend one time in their career because of the high demand for the seminars/webinars (42% of the workforce is eligible to attend).
• Speakers from four agencies present general information on Social Security, health insurance (Civil Service), Deferred Compensation, and pension (NY State & Local Retirement System).
• The 11-chapter Self-Help Guide is emailed to participants and can be found on the WLS website, where it is updated each year in January. Get the Guide at https://goer.ny.gov/self-help-guide-pre-retirement-planning-new-york-state-employees.
• The Checklist for NYS Employees, 23 short videos, and many other resources are on the website so that employees can always have access to most current information to assist them with planning for their retirement at https://goer.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2021/01/retirement-checklist-2021.pdf

NYS Network Child Care Centers

• There are 29 child care centers located at various state sites across New York. Seventeen of these centers are located on SUNY campuses.
• Enrollment priority is given to children of state employees and children of SUNY students.
• Many centers provide school-age care for before and after school, vacation care, and summer camps.
• Each center is a separate not-for-profit organization with a volunteer board of directors who sets policy and oversees the management of the program.
• A list of the centers with contact information is available on the NYS Network Child Care Center page at https://goer.ny.gov/network-child-care-centers 
• A description of each center is also available on the NYS Network Child Care Center page at https://goer.ny.gov/network-child-care-center-descriptions

Employee Assistance Program

• EAP offers information, assessment, and referral resources to help employees deal with the everyday issues involved in balancing work and life, as well as more serious problems that may impact work performance.
• EAP services are confidential. With limited exceptions, no information may be released without the employee’s written consent, no records are kept, and the employee does not have to give their name or agency to the EAP coordinator.
• EAP is available 24/7/365 for employees as well as family members at 1-800-822-0244 or https://goer.ny.gov/employee-assistance-program
• The use of EAP is voluntary; an employee cannot be mandated to use EAP services.
• EAP is not a disciplinary process; it is used to help employees address work performance issues before they require disciplinary action.
• An employee may speak with any NYS EAP coordinator; the coordinator does not have to be the coordinator for the employee’s agency.
• EAP can assist individuals and agencies recovering in the aftermath of a critical incident.

WellNYS Everyday

• WellNYS Everyday is an Employee Assistance Program and Work-Life Services Wellness initiative dedicated to educating, engaging, and empowering New York State employees and their families, by encouraging participation in healthy behaviors.
• Portals are available on the website for education and to track participation at https://goer.ny.gov/wellnys-everyday
• Every morning a new WellNYS Daily To-Do tip of the day is posted to the website and can to employees and family members. The tip provides creative suggestions and interesting facts, or inspiring quotes based on the current Monthly Challenge.
• There is a Monthly Challenge participation program that offers employees and family members the opportunity to register and track a different healthy behavior for certain days each month.
• The website features I Did It! and My First or Next 5K. Participants who self-nominate  healthy behaviors are recognized on the website and inspire others by doing so.