Health benefit cost for state public retirees up $45B in past 2 years: report

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

A new report says New York’s public sector employees have been promised $250 billion in retirement health benefits, though the state and local governments have not set aside money to cover them.

The Empire Center for Public Policy of the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute says the obligations have increased by $45 billion since 2010.

The report, titled “Iceberg Ahead,” says the unfunded liabilities include $84 billion for New York City, $73 billion for the state, $17 billion for the state’s 20 most populous counties and $7.4 billion for the 20 largest school districts outside New York City.

The center says in the report released Wednesday that many public sector employers allow retirees to stay in employee health insurance plans while paying a fraction of the premium.