In the past few weeks, members of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC/CUNY) met with State Senators John Liu, Jessica Scarcella Spanton and Kristen Gonzalez to discuss a bill (A10565/S9252) that would direct the Board of Trustees for the City University of New York to conduct an audit of its participation in pension systems. All three senators agreed to co-sponsor the bill.
CUNY Professors and staff represented by PSC/CUNY have experienced a host of pension problems at CUNY. Some have had to pay tens of thousands in make-up payments and interest because CUNY failed to enroll them properly.
The meetings included PSC members who have been directly affected by CUNY’s mistakes in handling their pension contributions. Dr. Nicholas Boston is a professor at Lehman College and a constituent of Senator Gonzalez. He had to pay more than $1700, including $750 in interest, after his pension contributions were not properly deducted.
“It was very meaningful to hear that Senator Gonzalez understands why this issue matters and stands in solidarity with us,” Professor Boston said. “The longer CUNY avoids dealing with this problem, the longer hardworking educators like me will suffer.”
Staten Island resident and former CUNY employee Danny Battista thanked his state senator for her support. His pension was also mishandled by CUNY, leaving him with a bill for nearly $8,600.
“I have deep appreciation for Senator Scarcella-Spanton for not only recognizing the seriousness of this issue, but for her genuine concern and support for the people who work for CUNY. This bill is unfortunately necessary to force CUNY to do something that it should already be doing – properly managing and auditing retirement contributions for its employees,” said Battista.
CUNY offers a choice of two retirement systems for full-time employees: TRS and the Teacher’s Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA). If no election is made after 30 days, CUNY is required by state law to enroll the employee in TRS. Part-time employees can choose to enroll in TRS.
Some employees are never enrolled, whether they submit paperwork or not. Others are successfully enrolled, but their deductions suddenly stop, with no notice given to the employee. Employees who work at multiple colleges may have deductions made at one college but not at others. These issues have resulted in PSC members owing anywhere from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars to restore their pensions, including interest incurred through no fault of their own.
The PSC says CUNY has consistently mismanaged its pension system, risking the retirement security of many of its members. The full scope of the problem is still unclear because CUNY refuses to conduct audits, but the union estimates hundreds if not thousands of affected members. PSC is leading the charge to reform the broken pension system, a fight that dates back more than a decade. In 2014, the PSC started raising the red flag and in 2023, PSC filed a lawsuit against CUNY asking them to audit their pension system, fix it, and make whole the members who had to pay thousands of dollars in interest due to CUNY’s mistakes. The lawsuit was dismissed by New York County’s Supreme Court.
Thankfully, this year, State Senator Robert Jackson and State Assemblymember Phara Souffrant-Forrest introduced legislation to require CUNY to audit its pension enrollment processes.
The bill calls for CUNY’s administration to “examine retirement enrollment, management, contributions and employee payroll deductions” across its 26 colleges, and report back to the legislature after one year with findings and plans to prevent future issues.
The PSC hopes this legislation and the eventual audit would serve as a first step towards redressing these issues, in part by uncovering the scope of the problem.
“CUNY management’s failure to fix the problems with their pension administration is costing our members money and putting their retirement security at risk. Every state lawmaker who signs on to cosponsor the Jackson/Souffrant-Forrest bill brings us one step closer to holding the management accountable,” said James Davis, PSC President. “We’re grateful to Senators Gonzalez, Liu, and Scarcella-Spanton for their support and look forward to the passage of this important legislation.”
“CUNY faculty and staff have spent their careers educating future generations, and like any pensioner, they deserve a pension that is transparent, reliable and financially sound,” said Senator Liu. “Regular audits should be standard practice for any large public institution responsible for managing employee pensions, and this legislation provides the critical transparency needed to ensure CUNY’s pensions are being administered properly and that its employees’ retirements are in good hands.”
“Senate Bill S9252 increases protections for those who dedicated their professional lives to shaping our next generation. I am proud to support this legislation to ensure CUNY retirees receive the benefits that they are rightfully entitled to. CUNY professors are the backbone of our public higher education system, which is why it’s essential for them to receive the proper retirement benefits,” said Senator Scarcella-Spanton.
