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Pension Contributions

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Visuals in this post: Labor's Share of the Budget Growth by Spending Line Raises vs. the Reserve Overtime Pension Contributions Union Density
data.nycuriosity.com › Public Sector Unions 2026 › Pension Contributions
Budget September 2026

The pension bill falls $1.8 billion by 2030, and the cost moves to the 2030s

The 2026 State budget let the City stretch out payments on its unfunded pension liabilities. The change saves up to $2.2 billion in its first two years and adds $7.6 billion in costs over the next ten, according to State fiscal analyses reported by the New York Public News Network.

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Planned pension contributions drop from $9.6 billion to $7.7 billion in four years

City-funded pension contributions in the June 2026 financial plan, fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2030, in billions of dollars. The fiscal 2027 drop is the largest nominal one-year decline on record.

Source: Office of the State Comptroller, Review of the Financial Plan of the City of New York (August 2026), Figure 19 Note: Fiscal 2026 through 2030 are plan figures.

The State Comptroller writes that contributions in fiscal 2033 through 2037 "will also be significantly higher when compared to the previous amortization schedule, deferring the cost of past employee service to future taxpayers." The same State budget improved Tier 6 pension benefits at a cost to the City of $123.3 million a year.

Sources: Office of the State Comptroller; New York Public News Network, May 26, 2026 for the ten-year cost and the Tier 6 figure. The Fiscal Policy Institute argues the old schedule was badly designed and puts the City's pension funding ratio at 83%.