More than 2,100 state employees collected both salaries and pensions last year, with 35 of them receiving more than $200,000 in combined compensation, a review of state records shows.
About 30 employees are also listed on the payroll of two state employers and received taxpayer-funded pensions, according to records of the State and Local Retirement System obtained by Gannett’s Albany bureau from the Comptroller’s Office through a Freedom of Information Law request.
The list is just a snapshot of the double dipping phenomenon in New York state because there are other types of double dipping that could be occurring in public sector employment.
The details show, however, that as Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to call for massive state layoffs because of New York’s fiscal troubles, some employees have been able to retire from their jobs, then go back to work and collect a lucrative salary from the state. About 220 employees had made more than $100,000 in pension and salary as of December, the latest figures available.
In some cases, the pension and salary came from the same employer from which they retired, which has raised questions about why some were able to return to the same jobs with a pension.
The records showed 323 state employees as of December were drawing a paycheck and pension from the same employer. About 60 percent of them work for facilities that serve people with developmental disabilities.
In all, 2,129 state employees had collected pensions and salaries last year, a total cost of $131 million, records show. The average employee on the list collected $61,479 in salary and pension. Most earned part-time salaries while in retirement….
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No doubt, the Health Department and the governor would like this report to be the final word on the subject.
But if it’s all the same with them, we’d still like a truly independent review. Read More