This report summarizes a more detailed study prepared by CBC, “The Case for Redesigning Retirement Benefits for New York’s Public Employees,” released in 2005. For decades the popular image of government employment has involved the tradeoff of lower wages for job security and relatively generous retirement benefits. That image, while still widespread, is no longer the reality. The new realities are: 1) In most cases, public-sector workers have higher wages than their private-sector counterparts; 2) New York City’s retirement benefits are far more generous than those of private employers and of other state and local governments; and 3) Continuing outdated practices is highly expensive.