Two prominent New York leaders have voiced skepticism of a plan for reducing local pension contributions recently proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
On Jan. 22, Cuomo proposed a plan to reduce local governments' required contributions in the near term for Tier VI pensions, for employees hired in 2012 or later, at the cost of higher costs further out.
"We have concerns about the impact on the [state pension] fund," said Eric Sumberg, spokesman for New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
"We are reviewing the proposal and continue to ask questions of the [state] division of the budget," Sumberg said. "We have an open mind until we finish our review."
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner has criticized the plan in recent days. Miner is the co-chair of the state Democratic Party.
While testifying at a state budget hearing Thursday, she raised several concerns.
"This plan hinges on a high turnover rate of current employees being replaced by new ones entering Tier VI," she said.
"It is our experience that public safety employees are not retiring after twenty years," she said.
"It may turn out that the rate of new employees coming into the system at Tier VI may not be fast enough to make the program effective," Miner said.
"I am concerned that in the first five years of this plan, we may be financing another liability that we may not be able to pay," Miner said. "Should challenging economic conditions present themselves in the future and cities are unable to pay this liability, New York State Retirement System could be seriously at risk."
Allison Gollust, spokeswoman for Cuomo, did not respond to a Bond Buyer request for a comment. She told the New York Times, "We look forward to work on this with the comptroller to deal with his spiraling pension costs, and if he has any suggestions on how to deal with them, he should let us know."
