Tag: Public Pensions

New York’s two-year-old Voluntary Defined Contribution (VDC) retirement plan—the most significant structural reform in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2012 Tier 6 pension legislation—is shaping up as a popular alternative among the relatively small number of government employees eligible to sign up for it. The 580 enrollees in the VDC plan between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2015 include at least eight of the 29 state Assembly and state Senate members elected during that period, according to the plan managers at the State University of New York (SUNY). Read More

The state’s pension fund for 1 million current public workers and retirees may lower its estimated rate of return, a move that could increase the cost on local governments. Read More

Like mosquitoes in warm weather, schemes to boost the already generous pensions of state and local government workers return to Albany every year. Read More

The stock market's recent performance suggests that the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) had trouble meeting its ambitious 8 percent return target during its most recent fiscal year, which ended a week ago. Read More

Seizing on the hardships of young firefighters and cops who have received skimpy disability pensions after being forced into retirement by line-of-duty injuries, unions representing the Bravest and Finest are pushing to roll back hard-won pension reforms. Read More

The Empire Center argues that the tax cap as it is written now is working and should be made permanent. E.J. McMahon, the president and founder of the Empire Center, makes the case for the cap. McMahon will also discuss new data on firefighter pensions. Read More

In what's becoming annual tradition, a handful of bills increasing pension benefits for groups of public employees passed in New York's Legislature this year. Read More

Now we know why the unions fought so hard to keep it a secret: The Empire Center for Public Policy reports that FDNY pensions averaged $100,000 for new retirees these past seven years. Read More