State and local governments in New York will have to come up with an additional quarter of a trillion dollars to pay the entire tab for retiree health care, according to a new report.

The $250 billion bill for retiree health coverage is up from $210 billion two years ago, said the study issued by the Empire Center for Public Policy on Wednesday. Referred to as “other post-employment benefits,” or OPEB, the unfunded obligations represent a troubling strain on budgets

Public employers have to disclose their liabilities, but they don’t have to budget for it. Instead, as in most states, New York budgets use an accounting method known as “pay as you go” that sets aside just enough to pay the tab for the year ahead. Critics of the practice say it masks future costs, passing an ever-larger buck to future taxpayers.

Buffalo, for instance, already pays more to cover its retirees—police who patrolled the streets or teachers who taught years ago—than to cover the health benefits of active workers. Spread over roughly 30 years, the liability for Syracuse taxpayers comes to $32,000 a household. The tab is particularly high for cities and suburban counties that employ more police and firefighters, many of whom can retire in their 40s and 50s with full benefits…..

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