ALBANY– Gov. Kathy Hochul is weighing a possible deal with a top union to allow public workers from teachers to nurses hired after 2012 to retire at 55 — part of a proposal that would cost taxpayers a whopping $1.5 billion, sources said.
The retirement age for workers with the New York AFL-CIO who were hired in the past 14 years is currently 62.
The potential fat pork pact involves more than a billion dollars in sweetened pension moves for the unionized public employees.
Gov. Hochul marches in the New York City Labor Day Parade with New York Attorney General Letitia James (left) and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on Sept. 6, 2025. Michael Nagle
Hochul is dealing directly with New York AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento on behalf of the state’s heavyweight teacher, healthcare and other public sector unions, whose members top 2.5 million.
Legislative leaders are being kept in the wings of the talks – which could be folded into the state budget package and lead to taxpayers footing billions of dollars in bills.
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.
The lower-retirement-age portion of the plan would cost an estimated $835.9 million, sources said.
The lowering of employees’ paycheck contributions to the pension fund would run $593 million, they said.
New York City Mayor Mamdani — a strong supporter of the city’s unions — could be left with $328 million in costs to deal with if the pension changes are approved. Michael Nagle
The additional costs would be handed down to school districts and local governments, including New York City, which could be left with $328 million in additional costs.
The split could set up yet another fiscal showdown between Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who are already warring over new taxes on businesses and the rich, with the socialist Hizzoner pushing for more levies on the state’s wealthiest.
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Mamdani is backed by the unions — but would have to grapple with the massive price tag of the proposed sweet state pension move if it comes to pass.
Groups repping cities, counties and towns wrote in a joint statement that the state should pick up the tab of any deal it strikes instead putting pressure on schools and local governments, something Hochul’s budget director, Blake Washington, told reporters Wednesday was a non-starter.
“Understandably, no,” Washington said flatly of the premise.
Washington wouldn’t reveal where Hochul stood in the closed-door talks at this point but noted the price tag was a concern.
“We have to make sure that we’re able to pay for it, because not just we as the state of New York, but also local governments as well,” Washington said.
The unions cry that the pension boosts are necessary to boost “recruitment and retention.”
“I’m for changing it,” Assemblyman Michael Benedetto (D-Bronx), told The Post of the current set-up.
“It was put in to save money. But on further thought, it’s not in New York’s best interests as a whole,” he said, echoing the claim that teachers and other public sector workforces face recruitment and retention issues.
“It is a topic of discussion in Albany. I would love to change it. All the unions want it,” the assembly Education Committee chair added, pointing specifically to the United Federation of Teachers.
The New York AFL-CIO declined to go into the specifics of the talks when asked for comment by The Post.
“We’re working closely with the Governor and the Legislature to develop solutions that address these mounting fiscal pressures and restore fairness for the public servants who deliver the services all New Yorkers rely on,” Cilento said in a statement.
If want to add a statement from United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew to the bottom of the story:
United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said that undoing Tier VI is a top priority for his group.
The teachers’ union brought thousands of members to an Albany rally last week to deliver their message.
“Tier 6 was an attack on working people when it was passed 14 years ago. None of the dire financial claims made at the time have have proven true,” Mulgrew told The Post.
“There is a way to right this wrong, now, without pushing costs onto workers or local governments. And if there isn’t a fix for Tier 6, the legislators should vote ‘No’ on the budget.”