New York state has the second-highest pension burden in the country, according to a bombshell report released yesterday that calls on Gov. Cuomo to rein in the costs.
The Citizens Budget Commission says New York spent $12 per $1,000 of personal income on pensions, compared with the national average of $7, during the state’s 2009 fiscal year, the latest year for which data is available.
Only Alaska ranked higher, spending $29 for every $1,000 in personal income from state residents, the report found.
The budget commission found that the state’s contributions to its two major pension systems jumped from $455 million in fiscal year 2004 to $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2001.
CBC leaders called on Gov. Cuomo to include pension-reform measures in his new budget proposal that will be unveiled next week.
“The fiscal case for pension reform is irrefutable,” said CBC President Carol Kellermann.
“Skyrocketing pension costs are already excessive, and they are increasingly squeezing out essential responsibilities of government.”
For the city, pension costs have soared from $2.4 billion in fiscal year 2004 to almost $7 billion last year — and the CBS projects those costs will rise to nearly $8.6 billion in fiscal year 2014.