More than 180 retired New York City school paraprofessionals are staring down slashed disability pensions and repayment bills reaching tens of thousands of dollars, after the city's pension system determined their benefits had been miscalculated for years. Sheri Principato, a 64-year-old retiree who left her job in 2008 after a student attacked her, said her annual pension dropped to less than $10,000 a year. Anthony Delgardio, 50, who retired more than 12 years ago after a student attack left him with a concussion and broken bones, now owes the system more than $38,000.
The United Federation of Teachers says the pension mishap has touched 185 retirees in total, according to reporting by the Brooklyn Eagle. The Teachers' Retirement System began sending letters in mid-June notifying retirees of the error and outlining planned clawbacks from future checks, and TRS wrote on June 18 that it apologized for the correction and its impact on retirees, per the Eagle's account. Delgardio, who retired from a special education high school in Brooklyn, said his pension was effectively cut in half compared to what he had been receiving before the reversal, leaving him with less than $1,000 a month. The Staten Island Advance first reported the pension reversal.
How a Statutory Formula Triggered the Cuts
The root of the miscalculation traces to which disability formula applies to paraprofessionals. TRS had been applying a two-thirds Final Average Salary accident disability formula, but under New York Retirement and Social Security Law §605, positions covered by Workers' Compensation are restricted to a lower, one-third formula, according to The Chief. TRS maintains that paraprofessional positions qualify for Workers' Compensation coverage and are therefore bound by the smaller payout, the outlet reported.
Retiree advocates dispute that reading. In an August legal challenge, advocates argued that TRS misinterpreted the statute by reducing pensions based on general job-title eligibility for Workers' Compensation rather than whether a retiree actually received Workers' Compensation payments, according to Fix Retiree Benefits. That distinction, advocates contend, is the central flaw driving the union's threatened lawsuit.
Union Weighs Lawsuit and Legislative Fix
UFT Secretary Michael Sill said the union is exploring both a legal challenge and legislative changes on behalf of the affected retirees, per the Eagle. The union has reported that the pension mishap has impacted 185 retirees and has been dealing directly with TRS to try to address the reversal. But labor attorney Jeffrey Goldberg said in August that because state law currently excludes Workers' Compensation-eligible paraprofessionals from the two-thirds calculation, permanently stopping or reversing the clawbacks will likely require lawmakers in Albany to act, not just administrative boards, the same outlet reported.
TRS did limit how far back it could reach for overpayments, capping backpay demands to the preceding three years under administrative limitations even though the miscalculation is believed to have occurred for more than 15 years. That time bar still produced lump-sum repayment demands reaching up to $37,000 per person, The Chief reported.
Retiree Advocates Mobilize, City Says It Is Watching
A coalition including Fix Para Pay, Fix Retiree Benefits, and the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees launched a joint campaign and petition in late July demanding TRS immediately suspend the benefit reductions and urging UFT leadership to intervene, according to Ed Notes Online. The coalition has pressed TRS trustees to pass a formal resolution waiving the backpay recoupments entirely.
The fight over disability pensions also lands amid friction inside the union itself. Insurgent slates ousted leadership in the Retired Teachers chapter and won eight seats in the paraprofessionals chapter during 2024 UFT elections, and those chapters have criticized union leadership for what they characterize as slow initial action on the retiree benefit crisis, per The Chief.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration is monitoring the pension situation, according to the Eagle, and said the city's Law Department identified the pension issue as a mistake that took place over many years. Delgardio, who continues to struggle with memory loss and mobility issues from his on-the-job injury, moved from Florida to live with his sister on Long Island and said he is contemplating selling his home to cover the shortfall.
Low Pay Compounds the Squeeze
The financial strain is compounded by how little working paraprofessionals earn to begin with. Active paraprofessionals have a starting annual salary under $32,000, among the lowest in the education department, which pushed the UFT to lobby for City Council Introduction 0692 granting a $10,000 annual non-pensionable bonus, a measure Hoodline previously reported Mamdani had resisted. The City Council ultimately approved that $10,000 yearly supplemental payment for working paraprofessionals.
Paraprofessionals remain in high demand across the district. New York City schools reported 1,639 paraprofessional vacancies in early 2025 while serving nearly 197,000 students with disabilities who rely on specialized one-on-one classroom support, according to data published by The Chief. TRS itself is one of five major municipal pension systems in New York City that together manage retirement security for roughly 720,000 active employees, retirees, and beneficiaries, per NYC.gov.
The pension consolidation that set the stage for the dispute dates back to state budget legislation. Under Chapter 551 of the New York State Laws of 2024, UFT-represented Department of Education support staff were required to shift their pension coverage into TRS from the Board of Education Retirement System by late 2025, according to the NYC Board of Education Retirement System.
