Tag: Public Pensions

Public employee unions, naturally, are staunch defenders of the old-fashioned defined benefit plans. But as E.J. McMahon noted in 2012 testimony before a joint legislative fiscal committee: "The current public pension system in New York, as in most other states, exposes taxpayers to intolerable levels of financial risk and volatility." Read More

The state's general pension fund was recently valued at a record $180.7 billion. Some, though, cautioned about future costs. "The state pension system remains a ticking time bomb," the Empire Center's E.J. McMahon wrote in his group's blog, NY Torch. Read More

E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank, criticized the new law, particularly since it allows union officials to earn pensions through both systems at the same time. Read More

E.J. McMahon joined Fred Dicker to discuss New York's public-sector pension funds. Read More

Massive but partially hidden funding shortfalls are a feature, not a bug, of New York City's public pension system and its counterparts across the country. Read More

"All of this points back to the unsustainability of the state's pension system," said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, an Albany-based think tank. Read More

“I think a lot of people might be surprised to the extent with which this happens around the state,” said E.J. McMahon, president of Empire Center for Public Policy, an Albany think tank. “You can actually bolster your pension with time spent working in uniform on private time.” Read More

The number of teachers in New York collecting pensions jumped 9 percent between 2010 and 2013, and the average pension grew 6.5 percent over that period, records show. Read More