New York Assembly by Matt Wade is licensed under CC 3.0
New York State’s public employee unions are attempting to change pension rules which could cost taxpayers up to $100 billion.
Union demands in New York State are often passed in Albany, regardless of how negatively they impact the constituents they’re elected to represent. Now, their behind-closed-doors pressure campaign demands the state scrap the 2012 reforms made to New York State’s pension system. First exposed by Ken Girardin’s piece in the New York Post, this would only cause the return of the issues that led to the reforms in the first place.
Between 2000 and 2010, the cost of the pension system skyrocketed from less than $1 billion in 2000, to nearly $10 billion in 2010. This unsustainable increase in costs led to passage of a series of reforms in 2012 that required public employees to pay up to 6% of their salary towards their pensions. This is the commonsense measure that Unions want to scrap.
Repealing these reforms would force New York State to spend billions of more dollars annually for pensions, which are guaranteed by the State’s constitution. Just in FY 2024, New York State spent~$17.9 billion on public pensions. If these reforms are rolled back, this cost would exponentially increase over the proceeding years, eventually reaching a total estimated cost of $100 billion. New York State’s budget has already doubled over the past decade, from $155 billion in 2016 to an estimated $254 billion in 2026. The state does not have the room for an increase of this size, and as with all increases in government spending, it would be taxpayers who would have to foot the bill.
Public sector unions continue to find new ways to siphon money from New York taxpayers. In 2024, they successfully got Albany to pass a seemingly minor change to how pension payments are calculated. Payments used to be calculated by averaging the top five years of an employee’s salary, the 2024 change brought it down to three. This immediately increased annual costs by $377 million, and to date has caused an overall $4.3 billion increase in State spending on pensions.
Taxpayers in New York State need to demand accountability from their elected officials and prevent any further tax hikes. Unions will always demand more money, and it’s up to Albany to check their power. The 2012 pension reforms were a success, and they should not roll over and go back on their promise to the people of New York State. Hopefully Albany will see reason, prevent these needed reforms from being scrapped, and keep taxpayer’s money in their pockets where it belongs.
