Maximum eligible pension benefits for retirees of the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) increased by at least $135 million in 2019, according to data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
The Empire Center’s most recent Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to NYCERS for “gross retirement benefit for calendar year 2019,” was only partially fulfilled, as the system excluded lump sum payments, most noticeably the annual Variable Supplement Fund (VSF) payments to uniformed correction force members. These payments of up to $12,000, informally known as the “Christmas bonus,” are made annually on Dec. 15.
A total of 1,086 NYCERS retirees as of 2019 were eligible for six-figure pensions, even without including the missing VSF payments to corrections retirees. The 589 uniformed corrections force members in their first full year of retirement led NYCERS members with an average annual benefit of $63,808, excluding the $12,000 VSF payment for which many of them would have been eligible.
Among the 7,833 total NYCERS members who retired in 2018 and collected their first full year of pension payments, the agency with the largest number of first full-year pension recipients was the Transit Authority, whose 1,762 new retirees averaged a maximum eligible benefit of $45,874.
The 2018 NYCERS retirees eligible for the highest pension benefits were:
- Nicholas Audi, Department of Environmental Protection, $371,699;
- Donald Iannuzzi, Transit Authority, $232,066;
- Beatrice Miller, Office of Prosecution- Special Narcotics, $195,582;
- Stewart Lazow, Health and Hospital Corporation, $194,379; and
- George Hila, Department of Citywide Administrative Services, $171,031.
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.
You may also like
132 NYSLRS Retirees Receive Pensions Over $200K in FY2026
A total of 132 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible to collect $200,000 or more in pensions during the 2026 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Among the 132 Read More
Empire Center Poll: Just 4 Percent Approve of New York’s Education System
ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers gave the state’s education system a sweeping vote of no confidence: 47 percent said the state should improve student performance, 41 percent said it should improve performance while spending less, and only 4 Read More
New York’s electricity prices climb to third highest in the U.S.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s shows New York households paid the third-highest residential electricity prices in the country in May 2026, trailing only Hawaii and California.
The latest U.S. Energy Information Administra Read More
Port Authority Payroll Passes $1.2B as 20 Employees Collect $400k+
Twenty Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year, while average pay agencywide rose three percent, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
The Por Read More
NYC Employee Pension Payments Rise To $6.2 billion
The pension plan covering most New York city government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 62 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, according to , the Empire Center’s transparency website.
According to the d Read More
Empire Center Poll: New Yorkers Prioritize Low Energy Prices and Have Little Appetite for Radical Climate Policies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers across political, geographic, age, and income groups oppose energy and climate policies that raise energy prices or force changes on homeowners, according to new Empire Center analysis Read More
New York’s Electricity Prices Fourth Highest in the Country
New York households are paying the fourth-highest electricity prices in the country, according to the Empire Center's In April 2026, residential electricity prices in New York averaged 29.45 cents per kilowatt-hour - 56 percent above the national average Read More
Fourteen NYC Educators Receive Over Half a Million Dollars in Pensions
Fourteen retired New York City educators received more than $500,000 in pension benefits in 2025, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
The data was obtained from the New York City Teachers’ Retirement Read More