Corrections Department employees qualified for average pensions of nearly $70,000, the highest average benefit for any agency grouping among the 7,990 New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS) members collecting their first full year’s worth of pension benefits in 2018, according to data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
The 670 Corrections employees who retired at any point in 2017 were eligible for full-year average maximum benefits of $69,652 in 2018, the latest NYCERS pension records show. The agency with the largest number of new full-year NYCERS pension recipients in 2018 was the Transit Authority, whose 1,688 retirees were eligible for an average maximum of $46,491 last year.
City agencies producing the next largest numbers of new full-year NYCERS retirees in 2018 were, in descending order, the Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), whose 1,630 new retirees were eligible for an average of $33,353 last year; the Department of Social Services, whose 505 retirees qualified for an average of $28,970; and the Housing Authority, whose 494 retirees qualified for an average of $31,125.
A total of 1,108 city retirees who retired were eligible for pensions of at least $100,000 in calendar year 2018. Topping the list of pensioners was Joseph Fiocca, a former deputy general counsel for the Housing Preservation and Development Department, who was eligible for maximum benefits payable of $434,263 in 2018, according to NYCERS records obtained by the Empire Center under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). Fiocca retired in 2010 with 33 years of service.
Corrections and HHC together accounted for slightly more than half of the 100 highest pensions payable in 2018 to city employees in their first full year of retirement. The 2017 retirees eligible for the five highest pensions were:
The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York State a better place to live, work and raise a family.
You may also like
Teacher Pensions Added to SeeThroughNY Include 25 Over $300K
New York’s two teacher pension systems last year had 25 retirees eligible to collect pensions of more than $300,000, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
More NY Pensions Hit $200K
The number of retirees eligible for $200,000+ pensions from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) reached 54 last year, according to new data posted on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
NYC Fire Pensions Hit New High
New York City firefighters and fire officers retiring last year after full careers were entitled to , up 11 percent from the prior year, according to new data added to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Read More
$5.5 Billion NYCERS Pension Payments Include $70 Million in Back Pay
The pension plan covering most New York city government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 47 members with pension payments of at least $200,00 last year, 11 more than in 2021, according to Read More
New York City Teachers’ Retirement System Adds More $200K Retirees
The number of retired New York City educators who received pensions over $200,000 continues to grow, reaching 117 last year. Read More
Six-figure NYSLRS pensions quadruple in ten years
The number of New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) retirees eligible for six-figure pensions quadrupled over the last seven years. Read More
Public School Retiree Pensions Set New Record
Average pension benefits for newly retired public educators outside New York City reached a record high last year Read More
Newest Pensions for Retirees of Police and Fire Careers Average $86,852
Full career police and firemen (those serving 20 or more years) enrolled in New York’s Police and Fire Retirement System (PRFRS) who became eligible to start receiving a pension during 2020 are eligible for an average award of $86,852 annually. Read More