Every time New York City faces a financial challenge, the same people seem to end up paying the price: retired public servants. The names change. The administrations change. The political rhetoric changes. But the playbook never does.
When money gets tight, City Hall and labor leaders too often look to raid the funds created to protect retirees and workers, treating our safety net like a gold mine.
That is exactly what is happening again.
NBC New York recently reported that Mayor Zohran Mamdani delayed a scheduled $3.7 billion contribution to the Retiree Health Benefits Trust (RHBT) to address a city cash-flow problem. The administration says the payment will be made later this year and that retiree benefits are not immediately affected. Of course, with a massive looming budget gap for next year as well, City Hall is in no position to make financial promises when it hasn’t kept its original ones.
Their response also misses the larger point. The RHBT was never intended to be a cash-management tool. That money is supposed to be in a lock box so tight, even the slippery hands of politicians can’t get in.
Created in 2006 by the City Council, its intent was unmistakable. The law states that the Trust was established “for the exclusive purpose of funding the health and welfare benefits of retired city employees and their dependents.” It declared the Trust should not be used to “circumvent or short-circuit” the City’s normal budget process. The Council deliberately chose to create a trust, not a piggy bank.
Yet here we are again.
This isn’t the first time healthcare funds established as a safety net have become part of someone else’s financial strategy.
Marianne Pizzitola is the president of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, Inc.Provided
The Municipal Labor Committee relied on the Health Insurance Stabilization Fund, another fund created to stabilize healthcare costs for active workers and pre-Medicare retirees, which developed a cash flow problem created by misuse. Eventually, retirees were told there was only one solution: force them into Medicare Advantage and impose new copays to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual “savings.”
Retirees didn’t create that problem. They were simply expected to solve it.
Now the city has a cash-flow problem, and once again, retiree healthcare funds are part of the answer. Different fund. Different mayor. Same thievery.
For five years, our organization has repeatedly asked City Hall and labor leaders to meet with retiree representatives to discuss the healthcare we earned through decades of public service. Those requests have largely gone unanswered.
Instead, retirees learn about major decisions after they are made. That is not transparency or accountability.
Independent fiscal experts have warned against this exact pattern for years. In 2021, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli urged New York City to strengthen its Rainy Day Fund so it could better withstand fiscal downturns. In 2022, then-Comptroller Brad Lander recommended returning the Retiree Health Benefits Trust to its intended purpose of funding retiree healthcare rather than using it as a fiscal stabilization tool. This year, Comptroller Mark Levine again called for stronger reserve policies to prepare for future financial challenges.
Three comptrollers. Three warnings. Same mistake.
At the same time, the City is delaying contributions to the Retiree Health Benefits Trust, it is also delaying payments toward its Unfunded Accrued Pension Liability—another obligation that exists to protect the retirement security of the men and women who devoted their careers to public service.
These are not surplus accounts. They are safety nets that exist because governments have long-term obligations that extend beyond election cycles and budget seasons.
Retirees are not asking for special treatment. We simply deserve promises to be kept. The question isn’t whether New York can afford to keep its promises. Our budget has ballooned from lack of fiscal discipline. Savings must be made before our hard-earned dollars are put at risk.
The question is if the City government will keep its promise to the men and women who taught our children, protected our neighborhoods, responded on September 11th, made our streets clean, cared for the sick, and kept this city running no matter what. Or will it keep risking our retirements to spare itself political pain?
Marianne Pizzitola is the president of the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, Inc.