The New York Sun reports on the public pension crisis brewing in New York:
In New York, most public employees in both the city and state can retire at age 55 with partial or - often - full pension benefits. Many employees pay nothing into the pension fund while they're working, and those who do pay generally put in only a small percentage, on the order of a few percentage points, and only during their first ten years of service.
Such generosity puts New York in a class almost by itself even among other government retirement programs, according to an analysis of BLS data performed by the Citizens Budget Commission. Some 78% of state and local government employees nationally contribute to their plans, and 74% of those who contribute pay in more than 3% of their earnings. This puts New York taxpayers on the hook for staggering amounts of money, as a nearby chart shows. The city's pension obligations shot up an astounding 453% between the 2000 and 2005 fiscal years and are projected to hit $5 billion in 2007, according to a report prepared over the summer by the head of the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center, E.J. McMahon. The state's contributions to the funds that cover all employees outside the city except for teachers rocketed up by 670% between 2000 and 2004. Taxpayer contributions to the fund for public school employees outside the city topped even that, growing by 730% in two years alone and look set to double again in the next year. None of these projections yet accounts for any effects of the recently concluded MTA contract negotiation with city subway and bus drivers.
What's special about New York is this little know provision in the state
Constitution which says:
membership in any pension
or retirement system of the state or of a civil division thereof shall be a
contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or
impaired.
How ironic to think that state and municipal workers will become the vanguard for
strict interpretations to constitutions.
