The city of Rochester, Monroe County and Rochester City School District have hundreds of millions in unfunded liabilities for government retiree health benefits, the Empire Center for Public Policy reported Wednesday.

The city has nearly $594 million in unfunded liabilities for government retiree health benefits, Monroe County has nearly $489 million and the Rochester City School District has nearly $361 million.

New York’s public-sector employees have been promised $205 billion in post-retirement health benefits that the state and its local governments have not accounted for, the report says.

Unlike defined-benefit pensions, which are at least partially funded through investment pools, retiree health care is financed out of governments’ annual budgets on a pay-as-you-go basis, Empire Center representatives said in a statement.

Benefits differ by employer, representatives said. Most governments allow their retirees to stay in the employee health insurance plan and pay only a fraction of the premium, after just five to 15 years of service, they said.

Rochester ranks behind New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers and Syracuse in the amount of unfunded liabilities among the state’s most populous cities, the report says. New York City’s liabilities are $62 billion, it says.

Monroe County ranks behind Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Onondaga, Rockland and Albany among the state’s largest counties, the report says.

The state, including its State University of New York system, has liabilities of $60 billion, the report says…

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