FDNY pension fund unsteady

FDNY FIREFIGHTERS’ pension payouts have cooled over the last year, but the fund’s future is still shaky, according to a new report.

Of the 420 firefighters and officers who retired in 2016, nearly two-thirds (264) were eligible for pensions over $100,000, the Empire Center said Thursday.

Seventeen of the 420 retirees had pensions over $200,000, the Albany think tank said. But overall, the pensions for 2016 were down slightly from the prior year.

The average payout this year is $117,914 compared to $120,799 in 2015, the report found.

The small dip could indicate there were fewer costly three-quarter disability pensions. But the FDNY fund still had an $8.9 billion liability in 2016, said Empire Center’s E.J. McMahon.

Steve Cassidy, executive director of the city’s Fire Pension Fund, said overtime caused by a discrimination lawsuit was to blame.

“Much of the increase in pensions is a direct result of Judge Nicholas Garaufis’ decision to freeze hiring several years ago, which required the department to dramatically increase overtime for its members,” Cassidy said.