As promised, Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced his approach to scaling back state pensions which he says would save taxpayers $93 billion over 30 years. According to the Times-Union, "Among the proposed changes: Raising the standard retirement age from 62 to 65; eliminating early retirement; requiring a 6 percent employee contributions for a workers' entire career rather than a limited period of time; excluding the use of overtime from calculating retirement pay; and banning the cashing in of unused sick days or vacation time." Teacher's retirement ages would be raised from 57 to 62.
Cuomo said, "The numbers speak for themselves — the pension system as we know it is unsustainable. This bill institutes common-sense reforms to bring government benefits more in line with the private sector while still serving our employees and protecting our retirees," and his announcement marked a new era—as the NY Times reports, "Mr. Cuomo’s proposal escalates a battle between the first-term Democrat and a major Democratic Party constituency: public-sector labor unions."
Civil Service Employees Association president Danny Donohue said, "Congratulations to Governor Cuomo for another grandstand play for the attention of his millionaire friends at the expense of the real working people of New York. Governor Cuomo’s proposal can only be viewed as an attack on working people to score some cheap political points." Indeed: Mayor Bloomberg liked the plan, saying it makes "sensible pension reforms that won't impact a single current employee or existing retiree."
