Op Ed
City Budget
Make NYC’s Retiree Health Benefit Trust More Trustworthy
May 25, 2016
The City of New York has a $70 billion liability for retiree health insurance costs and other post-employment benefits (OPEB), not including pensions. These benefits are contractually owed to retired city employees and are largely unfunded. The City created a trust fund to begin to save funds for these obligations, and Mayor Bill de Blasio will increase it to new heights with his proposed budget, but far more needs to be done to ensure that funds will be available to pay these obligations in the future.