As state lawmakers consider enhancing retirement benefits for government workers, fresh data from the Empire Center confirm that existing pensions are generous compared to national norms. 

For newly retired educators statewide (not including New York City) with at least 30 years of service, the average maximum state pension benefit was $78,097, according to data released recently by SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. 

That amount was almost five times the 2022 median for Americans over 65 who had retirement income other than Social Security. 

According to the Census Bureau, only about half of Americans over 65 had any retirement income beyond Social Security and other government benefits. Of those who had such income, the median amount in 2022 was $17,160. 

The data were obtained by the Empire Center from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS), which finances pensions for teachers, superintendents and other school professionals. 

The figures reflect the maximum allowable pension benefits for each retiree in 2025, including cost-of-living adjustments and other supplements the retiree received, if any. 

Since 2008, SeeThroughNY has annually posted all available salary and pension information for state and local employees. The data are publicly available thanks to the Empire Center’s years-long effort to protect the public’s right to access pension records, including the names of retirees, which culminated in a landmark 2014 Court of Appeals decision. 

Among the new retirees, 431 or 15 percent were eligible for pensions over $100,000. The highest was a benefit of up to $164,158 that went to Andrew Verboys from the Scarsdale Union Free School District. Other top recipients included: 

• Avis Shelby, retired from the Haverstraw-Stony Point school district, $157,602; 
• Gerald Cozine, retired from Great Neck, $156,844; 
• Michael Chiapparelli, retired from Mamaroneck, $156,800; 
• Juanita Bryantbell, retired from Uniondale, $155,414. 

Among all retirees, including those from previous years, five were eligible to collect pensions of more than $300,000 last year. Of the 172,533 retirees who received benefits in 2025, 69 were eligible for pensions of more than $200,000, and 6,322 were eligible for pensions over $100,000. The top five recipients were: 

• James Feltman, retired from the Commack school district in 2010, $328,968;
• Sheldon Karnilow, retired from Half Hollow Hills 2011, $325,404;
• Carole Hankin, retired from Syosset in 2013, $322,510;
• James Hunderfund, retired from Commack in 2006, $320,043;
• Louis Wool, retired from Harrison in 2021, $311,966. 

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 a better place to live, work and raise a family.