Photo with arrows pointing to the Statue of
Liberty/coat drive ad by PirateJenny on flickr
With the grim state of the city budget a hot topic these days, questions are being raised about how long we can continue to sustain the heavy financial burden that comes from the city's pension system for municipal retirees. Last year the city paid out a total of 9% of its budget ($5.6 billion total) for its pensions and analysts project that percentage is only expected to rise. Former NYPD officer and current State Senator Martin Golden told the Post, "Everything's got to be explored...The bottom line is everything's on the table."What Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson would specifically like on the table is the "20-and-out" retirement plan for municipal workers. Bloomberg said, "Right now, we are paying full retirement benefits to people in their 40s. As people are living longer, we simply can't afford to do it forever."
