The soaring cost of New York State’s public pension systems can be permanently controlled by shifting to the sort of employer-subsidized individual retirement plans now popular in the private sector, according to an updated study of the state’s pension structure by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

The study — “Defusing New York’s Pension Bomb: A Fair Approach for Workers and Taxpayers” — documents a $5.6 billion increase in tax-funded contributions to the retirement funds for public workers over the past five years.

“The pension problem is not simply a function of the 2000-03 stock-market slump or Albany’s increases in pension benefits six years ago — although both helped precipitate the latest crisis,” the study says. “The real cause is the fundamental design of the pension system itself, which obscures costs and wreaks havoc on long-term financial planning.”

You may also like

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

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

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

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

Most Long Island Educators Paid at Least $100,000 Last Year

18% of all public-school teachers and administrators employed by school districts outside New York City were paid over $100,000 last year Read More

$139K Average Pension for New Full-Career FDNY Retirees

Nearly three-quarters of those retiring last year from the City of New York’s Fire Department (FDNY) were eligible for six-figure pensions Read More