General State Charges

Mission

The General State Charges budget funds State employee and retiree fringe benefits such as pensions, health benefits, employer social security contributions, and workers’ compensation, and pays the State’s fixed costs, including litigation expenses, taxes on State owned lands, and payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs).

Budget Highlights

The Executive Budget recommends appropriations totaling $3.6 billion (All Funds) for General State Charges (GSC). General Fund appropriations total $3.2 billion and Fiduciary Funds appropriations total $400.5 million.

Much of the year-to-year appropriation increase is attributable to transitioning the Empire Plan, the State’s employee and retiree health plan, to a self-insured arrangement. Previously, the State paid a set annual premium to its health insurance carriers to fund benefit claims. However, under the new arrangement, the State assumes full responsibility for the payment of benefit claims, and therefore assumes increased risk. Nevertheless, the new arrangement is advantageous because the State, local governments and public authorities (and their employees and retirees) will avoid paying New York State and certain Federal Affordable Care Act taxes, fees and assessments.

Additional increases will primarily support increased pension and workers' compensation costs, and potential litigation expenses.

Major budget actions include:

• Eliminate Reimbursement of Supplemental Medicare Part B Premiums for Higher Income State Retirees. The State currently reimburses the full cost of the Medicare Part B premium charge imposed on State retirees ($104.90 per month in 2014). In 2007, the federal government imposed an additional Medicare Part B premium on higher-income earning Medicare retirees. This additional premium, the Income Related Medicare Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA), was designed to have higher income retirees pay more into the Medicare system. The State also provides full reimbursement for the IRMAA premium. The Executive Budget would end this practice. This would affect less than five percent of 145,000 State retirees and dependents with Medicare coverage. This action will take effect on January 1, 2014, resulting in savings of $1.7 million in 2014-15, but will grow to over $7 million on a full annual basis in 2017-18.

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

Create Link: Briefing Book -- State Workforce

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 01/20/2014

Click for additional detailed appropriation tables