By ALFREDO ALVARADO

City employees are usually enrolled automatically in the retirement system when they are hired. But that’s not true for many members of Board of Education Employees Local 372.

New Local 372 members are required to sign up. But many members who work for the Dept. of Education neglect to enroll and therefore don’t receive pension benefits when they retire.

District Council 37 and Local 372 announced their support of legislation, sponsored by New York state Sen. Diane Savino and Assembly member Nick Perry, that would automatically enroll members in the Board of Education Retirement System.

“Under the current enrollment process, too many of our members at the Dept. of Education have missed out on the full pension benefits they are entitled to,” said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido.

Local 372 President Shaun D. Francois I applauded the Albany legislators for introducing the bill.

“We appreciate the support of Sen. Diane Savino and Assemblyman Nick Perry and the bill they introduced in Albany to make sure our members will be enrolled in the retirement system,” he said. “As many as 5,000 members neglected to register in the retirement system.”

“We hope to bring this bill to a full vote after the Memorial Day weekend,” said Savino.