New York Approves $557 Million Pension Expansion for 800,000 Workers as Unions Win Tier 6 Rollback
Updated
Updated · Newsday · Jun 28
New York Approves $557 Million Pension Expansion for 800,000 Workers as Unions Win Tier 6 Rollback
1 articles · Updated · Newsday · Jun 28
Summary
$557 million in annual pension changes approved in New York’s May budget will expand benefits for about 787,240 public employees hired since 2012, marking one of the state’s biggest rollbacks of Tier 6.
Teachers can now retire at 58 with 30 years of service, while other workers will pay lower contribution rates and police and firefighters can count more overtime toward pension calculations.
The deal emerged after unions sought more than $1.5 billion in improvements and spent two months negotiating which priorities to keep as Hochul’s administration rejected the full package.
$440 million of the yearly cost will fall on local governments and school districts, with the state covering $118 million, prompting municipal leaders to argue the changes will strain budgets without fixing hiring problems.
Labor groups cast the package as a milestone in a decade-long push to undo Tier 6’s reduced benefits, and say they will press for further changes after this election-year win.