NY Governor Vetoes Retirement Incentive Bill

The Buffalo News reports that the new measure would allow public employees to retire with full benefits at age 55 with 25 years of service. The current requirement for most public workers to retire with full benefits is age 62 with 30 years of service.

Pataki shot down the measure saying costs for the state government only would be $11 million for the next 17 years, according to the Buffalo News. For the public university system, the cost would be $9 million.

Pataki said in his written veto statement that the bill gave no discretion to government employers who could be faced with employees leaving important posts. The governor had been pushing for a more targeted retirement incentive in which employers could have a final say over which employees could retire.

However, Danny Donohue, Civil Service Employees Association president, told the news service that the governor’s plan would be more costly than the one he vetoed. He said the measure vetoed by the governor would cost $25 million in the first year versus the $450 million that the last targeted early retirement program cost the government in 2002.