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ALBANY — Call it Mike’s pension sweetener.
Mayor Bloomberg hinted yesterday that state legislators who support cutting pension benefits for future government workers could benefit from his deep pockets.
During a lobbying trip to the state Capitol, Bloomberg was asked whether he’ll put his considerable wealth behind backers of Gov. Cuomo’s proposed pension overhaul, which the governor says would save the government $113 billion over 30 years.
“You can rest assured that I will support those people at a national level, at a state level and at a city level, who are on both sides of the aisle, that I think have the courage to stand up and do what’s right for the country that I love, the state that I love and the city that I’m lucky enough to be an employee of,” he told reporters before pension powwows with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-LI).
Bloomberg put his money where his mouth was last year, giving each of the four upstate Republican senators whose votes helped pass a gay-marriage bill the maximum campaign contribution of $10,300.
“We are going to have fewer services, we are going to have fewer employees, and in some cases we are going to have higher taxes if this continues,” Bloomberg said of skyrocketing pension costs for the city, state and other localities. “We’re tired of people blaming us for this. This is the legislature.”
Cuomo’s plan would require future public employees to kick in more for their pensions, vest and retire later and be barred from using overtime to inflate their retirement payments.
He also wants to offer future workers a 401(k)-style “defined contribution” plan as an alternative. But he has indicated he could drop it for a broader agreement with lawmakers, many of whom are backed by campaign cash from public and private labor unions opposed to benefit reductions — but particularly the 401(k) option.
Bloomberg said he hasn’t “thought about” a media ad campaign to support pension reform, noting time may be short until the issue is resolved. Cuomo has included the plan in his state budget proposal, which lawmakers are trying to finalize by the end of the month.
Bloomberg, who was joined yesterday by county executives and mayors from around the state, wouldn’t say whether he would accept reform without the 401(k) option. That’s Cuomo’s issue to negotiate, he said, adding, “I don’t want to complicate his life.”