Another day, another shocking Empire Center revelation. Announcing the latest update to its SeeThroughNY database of New York public employee pensions, the watchdog flagged the city government retirees now scoring the highest pensions.
No. 1 is former Housing Preservation and Development Department lawyer Joseph Fiocca, who retired in 2010 after 33 years and scored benefits of $434,263 for 2018.
In all, 1,108 retirees qualify for at least six figures a year from the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, which covers only part of the municipal workforce. (Other funds handle teachers, cops and firefighters.)
The taxpayers are on the line to make good on all benefits if the pension funds run short. And most retirees also qualify for city-funded health benefits — now the fastest-growing part of the city budget.
Nos. 2 and 3 behind Fiocca are former DOT workers Saul Basri at $367,219 and Holly Haff at $340,141. The highest pension for a 2017 retiree was $319,494 for Eileen Sullivan of the Queens DA’s Office — making her No. 4 behind Haff.
Which shows that multiple rounds of pension reform, supposedly trimming benefits, still leave city retirees doing quite nicely. Better, we fear, than the taxpayers can afford.
© 2019 New York Post
You may also like
EDITORIAL: CAN WE AFFORD SIX -FIGURE PENSION AS THE NORM?
Six-figure pensions are becoming the norm among retirees from New York’s largest downstate suburban police departments, according to data posted at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
Comptroller warns of financial distress at the MTA, and the MTA goes on a hiring spree
According to Ken Girardin, a labor analyst at the right-leaning Empire Center for Public Policy, every new police officer will cost the MTA roughly $56,000, which means the new personnel would initially cost the MTA roughly $28 million a year.
Those costs should rapidly increase over time, as police salaries rapidly increase. Read More
TOP SALARIES IN WESTCHESTER FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
One of the great government watchdogs in New York State is the Empire Center for Public Policy, led by EJ McMahon. The Empire Center recently came out with its annual report on overtime costs and the highest earning public servants in NYS. Read More
Genesee Community College president tops pay list in Finger Lakes
ALBANY — Genesee Community College President Dr. James Sunser was the highest-paid municipal government worker in the Finger Lakes region, according to the latest edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center’s annual report summarizing total local government pay. Read More
These Dutchess City, Town Workers Are Among Highest Paid In Upstate NY
Citing data from the New York State and Local Retirement System based on regular, overtime pay and unused vacation time, Empire Center’s 2018 “ What They Make ” report determined which town, city, and village employees are getting paid the most. Read More
LIRR union chief blames OT on inadequate staffing levels, increased workload
“That’s one heck of an incentive,” said E.J. McMahon, research director for the Empire Center for Public Policy, the organization that publicized the MTA’s alarmingly high overtime rate in an April MTA payroll report. Read More
Fiscal Watchdog Wins Open Records Case
The Empire Center for Public Policy on Monday notched a victory in state court Monday after a judge found the names of retired New York City police officers who receive pensions are public records that must be released. Read More
Delaware psychiatrist tops Southern Tier public salaries
A Delaware County employee was named the highest-paid in the Southern Tier, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the Empire Center for Public Policy, an Albany-based nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank. Read More