Posts tagged tier 6
Hochul proposes $500M pension sweetener as she battles unions in budget stand-off
May 11, 2026 // Still, whatever deal is struck is likely to put a major strain on local governments, schools, public hospitals and law enforcement — which risk a mass exodus that could lead to service cuts. The cost of Albany’s public pension giveaway will also translate into higher property taxes and school taxes for New Yorkers.
New York unions say fixing Tier 6 will drive hiring. Data suggests otherwise.
April 19, 2026 // The situation in Albany, where retirement costs account for about 9% of the city's budget, underscores a reality for many cash-strapped local governments across New York. And the dire financial outlooks are in place as state lawmakers weigh whether to address changes to the Tier 6 state pension system. Rochester, for example, is facing a budget gap of $131 million, the largest in the city's history. Rochester's largest expenditure is its increasing pension and health care costs. Those projected pension costs for the next fiscal year are $74 million. Health care costs for active and retired employees have escalated to $108 million. "This budgetary framework is simply not sustainable," Mayor Malik D. Evans told a state legislative panel last month. "And it threatens the incredible momentum we're making toward violence reduction, job creation, workforce development, affordable housing, home ownership, economic
Opinion: Teacher’s union lies to extort billions from taxpayers
April 7, 2026 // The unions insist that the state needs to “fix” the pension rules because, they say, reforms enacted for future employees in 2009 and 2012 (the latter commonly called “Tier 6”) have made it harder to attract and keep good employees. This is a remarkable claim that crumbles under inspection. New York state government set a record for the most employees hired in 2023, only to smash it in 2024. So much for that recruitment problem.