Taxpayer-funded employer contributions to public pensions in New York State will rise by billions of dollars in the next few years, threatening to divert scarce resources from other essential public services in the midst of a fiscal crisis, according to a new report from the Empire Center for Public Policy.
“New York’s Exploding Pension Costs,” by E.J. McMahon and Josh Barro, forecasts pension funding trends for the New York State and Local Retirement Systems (NYSLRS) and the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS), which cover nearly every public employee outside New York City. It also summarizes official reports of funded status and projected costs over the next three years for the New York City Retirement Systems.
The pension report was the subject of a YNN Capital Tonight roundtable with report author E.J. McMahon, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, below.
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