Institute for Education in Retirement Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
832772468
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2018
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2122185549
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$139,277
Expenses
$91,952
Assets
$1,503,267
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ruth Mackaman (President)
  • Patrick Siconolfi (Vice President and Treasurer)

People named in this filing

  • Ruth Mackaman (President)
  • Patrick Siconolfi (Vice President and Treasurer)
  • Lynn Brenner (Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The institute for education in retirement, inc. (ier) is a New York non-profit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to supporting intellectually challenging peer learning and community engagement opportunities to the post-career community of the New York metropolitan area through activities such as onsite peer-to-peer study groups, free public lectures, and free online classes for homebound older adults.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Institute for Education in Retirement, Inc.'s (IER) major focus since the summer of 2019 has been supporting the Lifelong Peer Learning Program (LP2) at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) which serves the New York Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1962 as the Institute for Retired Professionals at the New School for Social Research, LP2 is the oldest Lifelong Peer Learning Group in the nation. It moved to the CUNY Graduate Center in the summer of 2019. LP2 is based on a model of adult continuing education known as peer learning. LP2 members from various backgrounds share the responsibility for designing, teaching, and participating in weekly noncredit study groups that mirror the content and structure of college courses. Learning at LP2 is both an intellectual and social experience, where common interests provide a foundation for new friendships. IER supports a number of programs at LP2, including free public lectures that bring some of the nation's top intellectuals in the arts and sciences to attendees in person or via Zoom, online classes for homebound older adults, and group art shows. These programs serve the growing retired and semi-retired community of the New York Metropolitan Area with the opportunity to keep intellectually engaged and give back to the community. IER also provides scholarships for those LP2 members in need.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.7%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 74.5%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $28.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 34%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.35; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.7% of revenue deployed · 74.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $69K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.