New York City firefighters and fire officers retiring last year after full careers were entitled to average annual pension benefits of $171,336, up 13 percent from the prior year, according to new data added to SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s government transparency website.

Among the 430 new retirees with at least 20 years of service, 108 were eligible for pensions over $200,000. Nearly 95% (405) of these full-career retirees were eligible for six-figure pensions.

Looking at the most recent data for all New York City Fire Pension Fund retirees – including those with fewer than 20 years in service, the average pension for all 15,958 FDNY retirees, as of fiscal year 2025, came to $98,921, up 51 percent from $65,364 a decade ago. Both amounts include in-service disability payments for some.

Overall, 784 retirees were eligible for pensions over $200,000, 34 percent more than the previous year’s total of 584. Out of these, 46 were eligible for pensions over $300,000, quadrupling since last year’s tally of 11.

As shown in the chart below, as the total number of retirees remained consistent over the last decade, the share of retirees eligible for six-figure pensions soared, tripling during that time.

 

The highest pension among all retirees went to former Capt. Patrick McEvoy, who was eligible for $404,730 in FY2025 after retiring in March, 2022. The next highest eligible pensions went to:

  • Michael Ajello, assistant chief of department, $387,579
  • John Sudnik, Chief of Department, $385,179
  • Terence Oconnor, firefighter, 368,052
  • Frederick Saporito, captain, $362,992

The figures include benefits from an optional program that allows members to make extra contributions to the pension plan, and the pension fund’s “Variable Supplement Fund” and “Christmas bonus” programs.

The pensions are constitutionally guaranteed by New York taxpayers and exempt from New York State income tax. New York City government retirees, including firefighters, also receive city health care coverage at no cost.

The data are only publicly available thanks to the Empire Center’s successful 2014 lawsuit.

 

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.

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