State Retiree Benefits Fact Sheet – New York

Fact Sheet Read time:
State Retiree Benefits Fact Sheet – New York

Even adjusting for size, New York faces bigger bills for retiree health and other non-pension benefits—nearly $50 billion for state employees—than all but a few other states, and yet it is one of the five largest states that has not set aside any money to cover these long-term costs. The state paid $934 million in 2006 to cover the health care benefits of current public sector retirees. The cost would be four times as great if the state chose to pay for benefits as they're earned, as it does in its pension system, and move toward full funding of non-pension benefits. On the pensions side, New York officials say internal calculations show the system to be fully funded, but the state's current accounting methods don't generate a funding ratio, unlike more common methods used by other states. This will change as New York adjusts to a new standard from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board that requires the use of one of the more common methods.

MORE FROM PEW

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America