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New York State Pension Fund Uses Obsolete Computer Technology

"The [New York] Department of Financial Services ... blasted the [New York] state pension fund for using obsolete technology and computer codes that date back to the 1950s to manage the retirement system. The antiquated equipment puts taxpayers and pensioners at 'significant risk,' officials said in the audit.... The audit revealed that the pension funds' information systems are no longer supported by their manufacturers and lack vital security patches. Additionally, pension fund officials admitted to the DFS auditors that the technology programs were 'approaching the point of failure'[.]"

New York Governor Cuomo Announces Pension Plan Credit for Military Service

"Cuomo and lawmakers will craft a measure to be included in next year's budget that would give honorably discharged veterans who work in state or local governments the chance to purchase up to three years credit on their public pensions. The announcement comes barely two weeks after Cuomo was criticized by veterans' advocates for vetoing a similar measure. Cuomo, at the time, cited its cost and the bill's failure to identify a funding source as the reasons for his veto."

Finally Retire New York's Overpriced Pensions

"Pension costs for state and local government employees in New York are among the highest in the nation and contribute significantly to our sky-high state and local tax burden. New Yorkers pay $574 per person per year in taxes for public employee pensions, more than twice the national average."

Is Mandatory Paid Sick Leave the Prescription for Healthy Workers, Healthy Businesses and a Healthy New York City Economy?

"While it is difficult to dispute that workers should be able to earn paid sick time off, what's often left out of the discussion is that paid sick time actually makes our economy stronger, overall. When workers report to work sick, they aren't particularly productive. In many instances, they risk getting their coworkers sick, compounding the lost productivity. They can even spread the illness to customers."

Start Spreadin' the News: Time to Defuse NYC's Pension Bomb

"New York City's pension costs will soon displace social services as the second-biggest spending category in the city budget, consuming the equivalent of more than 80 cents out of every dollar raised by the city's personal income tax. But even with annual contributions approaching the once-unimaginable level of $10 billion a year -- more than the entire budgets of all but a handful of large cities -- the city remains vulnerable to a pension funding crisis within the next few years."

Stop Politicizing Pensions: The Sole Duty of Politicians Should Be to Deliver Maximum Return to Retirees

"In the latest movement to force political agendas into the management of public pension funds, [Mayor de Blasio and City Controller Scott Stringer] proposed in January 2018 to divest $5 billion in energy stocks from the city's pension funds.... New York City stands to lose $25 million immediately in frictional costs, and up to $1.5 billion over the next 50 years if it goes ahead with this plan."

9/11 Pension Boosts for Time Spent on 'The Pile'

"More than 700 retired [New York] cops and firefighters have switched their pensions to a special 9/11-related disability status since the state permitted them to do so in 2006 ... Under the laws, it is automatically presumed that a retiree's cancer, heart or lung ailments are 9/11-related, even if there are other possible causes, such as smoking.... City Hall officials feared the measures would cost $50 million annually, placing a major strain on the pension system.... While the total cost to date is not known, and will remain so for years, early projections appear to be far lower than the city's initial estimate ... One insider pegged it at about $10 million annually."

A Pension Plan That Works for All

What [New York Gov. Andrew] Cuomo is proposing -- and what the public employee unions are fighting tooth and nail -- is actually a better deal for many workers than the current system.... The state and city universities have been living under a retirement system very similar to Cuomo's reform plan since the mid-1960s.

Cost of Health Insurance Provides Healthy Dose of Sticker Shock

"Providing decent medical coverage for [the author's] family of four -- including both what's deducted from [his] paycheck and the larger amount chipped in by The News -- costs more than the sticker price for a brand-new Ford Mustang. Per year. Holy cow. No wonder the experts are so freaked out about health care costs. The rest of us should start freaking out, too, before these costs bankrupt the country."

The Truth About Those Obamacare Coverage Letters

"[The ACA] bars certain common practices of insurance companies that most people find unacceptable at best, outrageous at worst.... The major problem has not been venality by insurers -- although there has been some of that -- but lousy incentives that drove normal human beings to engage in socially deplorable practices. Obamacare is changing the system. With the requirement that people carry approved coverage, anticipated profits on some customers will offset anticipated losses on others."