CBC examines the retirement benefits – health insurance and pension payments – for employees of the City and State of New York. The report finds that 1) retirement benefits are a large and rapidly growing expense for the City and the State; 2) benefits provided by the City and State are more generous than those provided by large private employers, the federal government and most other states and localities; and 3) generous pension benefits for City and State workers can no longer be justified on the ground that these workers’ wages are lower than in the private sector, because for most occupations (managers and professionals are the notable exceptions) wages in the public sector are higher than in the private sector.