Nick Reisman writes on pressconnects.com - “Pension costs for state and local governments will soar by as much as 37 percent in 2012 as New York’s $124.8 billion pension fund grapples with a sluggish economy, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Thursday.

Contributions that fund the state’s Employee Retirement System will grow from 11.9 percent of a municipality’s total salary to 16.3 percent in 2012, DiNapoli said.

The average contribution for the Police and Fire Retirement System is jumping from 18.2 percent to 21.6 percent, an 18.6 percent increase.

Because the rate of return on pension investments is expected to be lower and the contribution rates are increasing, town, city and county governments will have to choose between cutting back on services or raising property taxes in order to pay for the higher premiums.”

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