Pension benefits for newly-retired city firefighters and officers have skyrocketed in the last decade, figures released Thursday by the Empire Center for Public Policy show.

The average annual pension for a member of the city’s Bravest who retired in 2010 was $89,177, compared with $62,147 in 2001—a 43% increase in under 10 years.

The average benefit of all retired firefighters reached $55,235 in 2010, which cost the city $886 million that year, according to the figures.

“I think you’re going to find a lot of people whose salaries haven’t jumped $27,000 in the last 10 years,” said Tim Hoefer, director of the Albany-based center, which is a project of the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute. “Ultimately, it falls on the taxpayer to determine whether or not this is reasonable.”

Firefighters’ pensions have steadily outpaced those of police officers. An NYPD retiree in 2001 averaged a $44,067 pension. In 2009, the last available year, that number was $58,563—almost $30,000 less than what the average firefighter who retired in 2010 received.

The startling stats come as City Hall continues to struggle to persuade the state Legislature to reform pensions and just days after the Bloomberg administration ordered another round of budget cuts. On Tuesday, the mayor ordered $2 billion cut from next year’s budget, which could mean layoffs and a showdown with public employees….

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