ALBANY– Gov. Kathy Hochul is quietly negotiating a possible deal with one of New York’s top labor leaders to allow public workers from teachers to nurses hired after 2014 to retire at 55, sources said.
The age is currently 62 for those hired in the past 14 years.
The potential fat pork pact would involve more than a billion dollars in sweetening pensions for the unionized public employees.
Legislative leaders are being kept in the wings of the talks – which could be wed into the state budget package and lead to taxpayers footing billions – with Hochul dealing directly with New York AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento on behalf of New York’s heavyweight teacher, healthcare and other public sector unions, whose members top 2.5 million.
The unions are pushing a proposal that would include lowering the retirement age from 62 to 55 for employees hired since 2012 known as Tier 6, Newsday first reported Wednesday. Those hired before 2014 can currently retire at 55.
The proposal would also lower employees’ contribution rate from 4.5% to 3.5%, according to details shared with The Post from a source familiar with the situation.
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If she goes along with it, Hochul’s handout to the unions could cost taxpayers $1.5 billion, split between additional costs handed down to school districts and local governments including New York City, which could be left with $328 million in additional costs.
The unions cry that the pension boosts are necessary to boost “recruitment and retention.”
“There was a time when public service meant stability and a real path to the middle class. That’s not what people see anymore. If we want to recruit and keep great public workers, we have to fix Tier 6.” New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person posted on X on Wednesday.