The compensation of full-time employees of the City of New York encompasses pay and fringe benefits. An employee’s pay includes base salary, overtime, shift or occupational differentials, longevity and other additional payments. For some groups of workers, notably uniformed firefighters and police officers, these additional wages add significantly to base salary. Fringe benefits are composed primarily of health insurance and pension fund contributions, as well as other items such as payroll taxes, supplemental benefit fund contributions and workers’ compensation. In fiscal year 2008, the average compensation cost per full-time employee was $106,743. Average pay per employee topped $69,100 and average fringe benefit costs were approximately $37,600. More than half, approximately $20,000, of the cost of fringe benefits was for pension contributions. The City’s contributions to pension funds reflect the latest estimates of the actuarial value of benefits for current workers when they retire, as well as costs of benefits to those currently retired that were not included in previous years’ contributions. Since adjustments are made annually and likely will be necessary for current employees in the future, the figure in Table 1 is the best available estimate of the annual cost of future benefits to current workers.1 Not included in Table 1 is the value to workers of the health insurance they and their spouse are entitled to receive when they retire; the present value of this future benefit is substantial, but the costs are not funded by the City on an actuarial basis and are not available on a per employee basis.