As governor, Andrew Cuomo was the mastermind behind an unpopular reform approved in 2012 that slashed pension benefits for future public employees and raised their retirement age at 63 — while previously hired employees could retire at 62 and teachers at 55.
Back then, Cuomo said the creation of the Tier 6 track put the state on course to save $80 billion over the next 30 years and was necessary to rein in rising pension costs.
So his declaration at a Saturday forum for mayoral candidates seeking the endorsement of the United Federation of Teachers that he now supports efforts to reverse certain elements of Tier 6 — including a proposal to reduce the retirement age to 55 — raised eyebrows…