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
Empire Center Report Makes the Case Against Further Tax Hikes
Adding to New York's already high tax burden would be both unnecessary and dangerous for the state's economy, according to a new report from the Empire Center.
Titled "Seven Reasons Read More
Average Pay at Port Authority Surges as 11 Employees Collect $400k+
Eleven Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year as average pay surged nine percent, according to 2024 payroll , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Read More
97 NYSLRS Retirees Eligible for Pensions Over $200K in FY2025
A total of 97 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible for pensions of $200,000 or more during the 2025 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Among the 97 retirees Read More
NYC Employee Pension Payments Cross $6 billion; 70 Members Collect $200k+
The pension plan covering most New York City government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 70 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, almost quadrupling 2019’s tally of 19, according to new , the Read More
23 MTA Workers Receive $200K in Overtime as Total Payroll Surpasses $8 Billion
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s payroll surpassed $8 billion in 2024 – a 2.6 percent increase since 2023, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Overtime, as measured using payroll records, totaled $ Read More
Teacher Pensions Added to SeeThroughNY Include 26 Over $300k
New York’s two teacher pension systems last year had 26 retirees eligible to collect pensions of more than $300,000, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Data reported from Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of Read More
Educators Receiving $200k+ Doubles in Five Years
The number of school district employees receiving a total compensation of more than $200,000 have more than doubled since 2019, according to posted today at , the Empire Center’s transparency website. The public educator pay data are based on Fiscal Ye Read More
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