General State Charges

Mission

General State Charges include the cost of providing fringe benefits to most State employees and retirees, as well as State litigation expenses, taxes on State owned lands, and payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) to local governments.

Budget Highlights

The Executive Budget recommends $3.0 billion for General State Charges. This is an increase of $262 million from the 2012-13 Budget. This amount will be augmented by $1.3 billion initially appropriated to the State University of New York for employee fringe benefits. The increase largely reflects a rise in pension, employee health insurance, and workers' compensation costs.

Major budget actions include:

• Ceasing Medicare Part B Reimbursement to Higher-Income Retirees. The State currently reimburses the full cost of State retirees’ Medicare Part B premium charge ($104.90 per month in 2013). In 2007, the federal government imposed an additional Medicare Part B premium on wealthy Medicare retirees – the Income Related Medicare Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA) – with the goal of having high income retirees pay more into the Medicare system. The State provides full reimbursement for this additional premium as well. The Executive Budget proposes to eliminate reimbursement of this additional premium for high income State retirees. This would affect less than 5 percent of State retirees with health coverage. This change will take effect on January 1, 2013, resulting in first-year savings of $2.3 million, growing substantially in later years.

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – State Workforce (PDF)

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/22/2013

Click for additional detailed appropriation tables