Jan 21
2022
Eye-catching public pensions
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Working for a public school system in New York State tends to pay well.
So does being retired from one.
Teachers and administrators who retired last year left with an average pension of $73,552 annually. That was up about $2,500 from the previous year.
The figures reflect teachers and administrators who put in at least 30 years and worked outside of New York City.
Retirees from Western New York averaged $63,060. That placed WNY in the middle of the pack of nine regions around the state. Tops was Long Island, with an average pension of $94,108 per year.
Pensions for educators
| Region | Retirees | Pension |
| Long Island | 713 | $94,108 |
| Mid-Hudson | 520 | $83,668 |
| Capital | 271 | $63,592 |
| Western New York | 272 | $63,060 |
| Finger Lakes | 263 | $61,754 |
| Mohawk Valley | 118 | $57,785 |
| Central New York | 224 | $56,670 |
| Southern Tier | 196 | $55,148 |
| North Country | 108 | $54,946 |
| Total | 2,685 | $73,553 |
Source: Empire Center for Public Policy.
More than 10 percent of new retirees are drawing six-figure pensions, led by the $271,275 paid to former Locust Valley School Superintendent Anna Hunderfund. The biggest pension paid among new retirees from WNY was $103,280 annually.
The pension payouts are according to a new report from the Empire Center for Public Policy.
