4/23/2018
By Ivan Pereira
Forget the Florida beaches and golf courses — when it comes to retirement, the majority of city workers are opting to stay in New York, according to a report released Monday.
The Independent Budget Office analyzed data from the city’s five largest pension systems and found that of the 332,143 total beneficiaries, 72.41 percent lived in New York State last year. Queens and Brooklyn were the top New York locations for those retirees, with a combined 85,403 members, according to the report.
Nassau County came in third with 28,769 benefit recipients.
The report, which looked at the Police Pension Fund, the Fire Pension Fund, the Teacher’s Retirement System, the Board of Ed Retirement System and the NYC Employees Retirement System, found that every state and the District of Columbia had a city pension beneficiary in 2017. There were 866 recipients who lived outside of the U.S.
Outside of New York, Palm Beach, Fla., was the county with the most New York City pension holders, with 7,868 members. Five counties in North Dakota had one city pension beneficiary, according to the report.
Researchers at the IBO didn’t offer an explanation as to why the majority of city pension holders remained in New York, but noted those funds are exempt from city, state and social security taxes.
On average, New York City pension holders received $38,711 annually, but the ones who remained in the state received an average of $40,098, the report said.
The office of City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who runs the city’s pension fund, could not be immediately reached for comment.
