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 data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website.

According to the data collected from the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), total payments climbed to $6.05 billion in 2024, a five percent increase since 2023 ($5.78 billion).

While the total number of pensioners grew only 9 percent in the last five years — from 147,459 in 2019 to 160,759 in 2024, the number of six-figure pensioners nearly tripled to 3,060 (from 1,086 in 2019).

The increase in pension payments included more than $83.5 million in “back pay”. 31 retirees collected over $100,000 in back pay with the largest being paid out to Joyce Sommersett of the Department of Probations who was paid $249,323 in backpay taking her total pension payment to $297,435. Although the reason for the backpay is not immediately clear from the data, NYCERS states that “in most cases, the additional sums represent monies due to the retiree for allowances not previously received; the period covered by these retroactive payments can be greater than one year.”

The total pension payments also include $116.8 million in Variable Supplements Fund (VSF) payments and $331.3 million in Cost-of-Living Adjustments.

Newly retired members (those retiring in calendar year 2023 and collecting their first full-year pension in 2024) included 4,845 “full career” individuals — those employees who had 20 or more years of service credit. The average pension received by “full career” retirees was $60,704, with 473 receiving six-figure payouts, including eleven pensioners who received more than $200,000.

Among all retirees, the top pension payments went to: 

• Eileen Barkow, retired from the City’s Department of Information, Technology and Telecommunications in 2023 – $487,297 total pension payments including $190,416 in backpay. 
• Stanlee Richards, retired from the Health and Hospitals Corporation in 2022 – $421,716 total pension payments including $184,360 in backpay. 
• Nicolas Audi, retired from the Department of Environmental Protection in 2018 – $372,257 total pension payments. 
• Joseph Lubrano, retired from the Department of Environmental Protection in 2023 – $366,732 total pension payments including $152,067 in backpay. 
• Joseph Place, retired from the Board of Education in 2022 – $357,677 total pension payments including $181,592 in backpay. 

Eileen Barkow and Joseph Lubrano are both newly retired. Joining them as the highest-paid recent NYCERS members are:  

• Joanne Weston, retired from the Department of Environmental Protection – $341,888 total pension payments including $147,980 in backpay. 
• Rufus Harvey, retired from the Department of Environmental Protection – $258,525 total pension payments including $105,224 in backpay. 
• Daniel Saunders, retired from the Department of Environmental Protection – $241,129 total pension payments including $70,335 in backpay. 

It is worth noting that pension payments in New York are not subject to state and local income tax. A retiree with a $60,000 pension payment would save approximately $4,586 (7.64 percent) in state and local taxes. 

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.