Who we serve
Built for Long Island's pension and hospital-system households.
Camba Capitalis a niche fiduciary practice. The work is deepest for households whose retirement runs through a public-sector or hospital-system pension — teachers, police, firefighters, civil service, LIRR, MTA, and the three big Long Island health systems. A secondary concentration serves tech-adjacent households where RSUs, concentrated stock, or founder income sit alongside a spouse's pension.
Each system below has its own quirks — its own tier structure, its own option menu, its own interactions with Social Security and Medicare. The purpose of this page is to be honest about what Camba has seen, what the typical questions are, and where the real money decisions live.
NYSTRS
New York State teachers outside New York City — most Long Island school districts, Stony Brook University academics, and the majority of SUNY faculty on Long Island.
What makes it unique. Defined-benefit pension with up to six option elections (Maximum Allowance, Options 1 through 4, plus Pop-up and Certain options). Tier 6 members hired after April 2012 face a materially different contribution and benefit structure than Tier 4 members. NYSTRS income interacts with Social Security through WEP if the member has other Social Security-covered earnings, and through GPO on a spouse's benefit.
Typical questions on the table:
- Should I take the Maximum Allowance or a Joint & Survivor option?
- How does my Tier 6 benefit compare to what a Tier 4 colleague would have gotten?
- If I'm also in TIAA from SUNY, how do I coordinate the two?
- Will WEP reduce my Social Security, and by how much?
NYCTRS
New York City Department of Education teachers and staff — a meaningful portion of Long Island households because many DOE staff live in Nassau or Suffolk and commute.
What makes it unique. Separate system from NYSTRS. Includes the Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) program — a 403(b)-style voluntary savings vehicle with a fixed-return option that is unusually generous and worth a careful analysis before rolling out. TDA funds can sometimes be left in place at retirement for continued fixed returns.
Typical questions on the table:
- Should I roll my TDA out to an IRA at retirement or leave it in the fixed-return fund?
- How does the NYCTRS pension coordinate with Social Security?
- What happens to my TDA at my death — and how does it pass to my spouse?
PFRS
New York State Police and Fire Retirement System members — state troopers, Nassau and Suffolk police, Long Island volunteer and paid fire departments, and related public-safety roles.
What makes it unique. Plan structure varies materially by tier and by which Section (20-year or 25-year) the member is in. Tier 2 members have a fundamentally different benefit formula than Tier 5 or Tier 6. Retirement is often much earlier than a typical civil-service career — which means a longer period before Social Security eligibility and a longer period before Medicare.
Typical questions on the table:
- Am I in the 20-year plan or the 25-year plan, and how does that change my election?
- What's the difference between Tier 2 and Tier 5 for my specific election choice?
- How do I bridge from retirement to Medicare at 65?
- How should the deferred compensation account coordinate with the pension?
NYSLRS (ERS)
New York State and Local Retirement System civil-service employees — Suffolk County government, Nassau County government, town and village employees, SUNY non-academic staff, and most public-sector workers not in teaching or public safety.
What makes it unique. Six tiers with very different rules. Tier 6 members hired after April 2012 contribute for their entire career and have a different final-average-salary calculation. The option election menu (Maximum, Option 1 Cash Refund, 100% J&S, 75% J&S, 50% J&S, Pop-ups, Five- and Ten-Year Certain) is where the actual money decision lives.
Typical questions on the table:
- Which option election actually protects my spouse best given our income picture?
- Should I buy back prior service credit before retirement?
- How does the deferred compensation 457(b) plan fit alongside the pension?
NYCERS
New York City Employees' Retirement System members — NYC civil service, transit (non-MTA police), sanitation, housing, and many agency employees. Common in Long Island households where one spouse commuted to a city job.
What makes it unique. Multiple plans within the system — 22-year plan, 25-year plan, and others — each with its own contribution and benefit rules. Variable Supplements Funds (VSFs) can layer on additional payments for certain members. Annuity savings and ITHP add further moving parts.
Typical questions on the table:
- How does my 22- or 25-year plan compare to the general-member formula?
- What VSF am I eligible for, and how does that affect my total retirement income?
- How do I coordinate NYCERS with a spouse's Long Island pension?
NYC Police & FDNY Pension Funds
Retired and near-retirement NYPD officers and FDNY firefighters. A very dense concentration on Long Island's South Shore and in Nassau County generally.
What makes it unique. Separate from NYCERS. Each fund has its own benefit formula, Variable Supplements Fund, and DROP-equivalent structures. Retirement is often in the member's early-to-mid fifties, which drives an unusually long bridge period before Social Security and before Medicare — and a long window for Roth conversion planning.
Typical questions on the table:
- How should I model my pension plus VSF plus other retirement income for the next 30+ years?
- What do I do with my Deferred Compensation 457(b) at retirement?
- How do I use the low-income years between retirement and Social Security for Roth conversions?
LIRR & Railroad Retirement Board
Long Island Rail Road employees and retirees — engineers, conductors, trainmen, and railroad office staff. LIRR is covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Board, not Social Security.
What makes it unique. RRB benefits are structured in two tiers — Tier I (similar to Social Security) and Tier II (similar to a private pension). A working spouse's Social Security interacts with RRB differently than it would with a civil-service pension. Early retirement rules under RRB are meaningfully different from Social Security's early-retirement penalties.
Typical questions on the table:
- How do Tier I and Tier II work together, and what's the optimal claiming age?
- If I take early retirement at 60 with 30 years of service, what happens to my benefit?
- How do my spouse's Social Security and my RRB benefits coordinate?
MTA (non-LIRR)
New York City Transit Authority, MTA Bus, Metro-North, and MTA Police employees. Covered through various systems depending on role — NYCERS for most civilian employees, MTA Police are in their own pension fund.
What makes it unique. Which system applies depends entirely on which operating agency and which role. Some MTA employees participate in the federal Railroad Retirement system (Metro-North); others are in NYCERS; MTA Police have a standalone fund. Getting the coordination right starts with confirming the actual plan.
Typical questions on the table:
- Which MTA pension am I actually in, and what are my options under it?
- How do I coordinate multiple benefits if I changed agencies during my career?
- What's the claiming strategy when railroad rules and civil-service rules both apply?
Stony Brook Medicine · NYU Langone · Northwell
Physicians, nurses, technicians, and administrative staff at Long Island's three dominant hospital systems. Many Stony Brook Medicine employees participate in NYSTRS or NYSLRS depending on role; Northwell and NYU Langone are private-sector 403(b) systems.
What makes it unique. The coordination problem is the whole problem. A Stony Brook nurse might have a NYSTRS or NYSLRS pension alongside a TIAA or Optional Retirement Program balance. A Northwell physician has a 403(b) plus often a separate 401(k) or deferred-comp arrangement. NYU Langone has its own 403(b) and frequently a supplemental executive retirement plan for senior staff.
Typical questions on the table:
- How should I coordinate my NYSTRS / NYSLRS pension with my TIAA or 403(b) balance?
- Should I roll my 403(b) out at retirement, or leave it with TIAA or Fidelity?
- If I have both a pension and a 403(b), which one funds which years of retirement?
Tech-adjacent Long Island households
Long Island residents with RSUs from public tech employers, concentrated-stock positions, crypto or AI-engineer income, founders exiting small businesses, and dual-career households where one spouse is in public-sector pension land and the other is in private-sector equity comp.
What makes it unique. These households don't fit the standard retail-RIA box. The planning questions are about RSU vesting schedules, 10b5-1 plans, ISO AMT exposure, concentrated-stock diversification, crypto tax-loss harvesting, K-1 income from an LLC, and how any of that coordinates with a spouse's pension. Camba's founder built AI payment infrastructure and understands both sides.
Typical questions on the table:
- How should I diversify a concentrated RSU position without creating a large tax bill?
- When should I exercise ISOs to manage AMT?
- How does my spouse's NYSTRS pension change the asset-allocation math on my 401(k)?
- What's the right structure for founder income alongside a public-sector household income?
Start the conversation
A thirty-minute call. Your system, your numbers, on the table.
Send your most recent pension statement, your Social Security estimate, and any 401(k) / 403(b) / 457(b) / TDA statements. Dan Zimon will read them before the call. The conversation starts with your actual numbers, not a generic questionnaire.