NEW YORK – New figures released on the New York City Teacher Retirement System show the number of educators collecting more than $100,000 a year has exploded since 2008.

The data, recently posted to SeeThroughNY.net by New York’s Empire Center after a four year legal battle, shows the number of pensions to break the mark increased dramatically from 856 in 2008 to 1,769 last year, more than doubling in the last five years, SILive.com reports.

The retirement system directs the pensions of more than 80,000 former Department of Education and City University of New York employees, among others, and paid out a whopping $3.4 billion in payments to members last year.

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At the top of the list is former history professor Edgar J. McManus, 90, who retired from Queens College in 2012 with a $561,286 annual pension. McManus is followed by former Baruch College economics professor Alvin Marty, who retired in 2008 with a $308,358 annual payout after 55 years in the system, according to media reports.

“The information become available for the first time in several years as a result of the Empire Center’s four-year legal battle and victory at the Court of Appeals,” SILive.com reports.

“In a 6-0 ruling in May, the state Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, held that the names of the state and local government pensioners are subject to public disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Law. Since the ruling, both the state and city teachers retirement systems have released their pension rolls for the first time since 2010.”

It’s easy to understand why they might want to keep the information under wraps, as some former Department of Education employee pensions are huge.

“The highest DOE pension, $287,625, is paid to James D. Rosen, who gets some $80,000 more than City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina,” the news site reports. “Fifteen other retirees collect more than $200,000 a year, including Chancellor Farina, who gets $208,506.”

McManus, who the New York Post dubbed the “Pension King” because his retirement is the highest in the state, taught history and constitutional law for more than a half century, and retired with a final salary of $116,364. His pension was boosted in part by his World War II military service, as well as other factors that brought his total credit for retirement to 61 years, the Post reports.

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“His pension is based on 1.2 percent of his final salary for each year before 1970, 1.53 percent for each year after 1970, and accounts amassed with investments of his own and city contributions,” according to the news site.

His age at retirement also factored in.

“In this member’s case, the extremely high service credit and the relatively short life expectancy – due to age at retirement – both contributed to an unusually high annual benefit amount,” TRS spokesman Mat Laskowski told the Post.

“They don’t pay you much when you’re working, but the pension is certainly good,” McManus told the Post. “Darn right I deserve it.”