Pension rates will increase for local governments as the system continues to recover from the initial economic recession and market crash of 2008, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said today.

“The Common Retirement Fund has had two consecutive years of strong investment returns,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “However, we are still incorporating the market loss of 2008-09 into our employer contribution rates. While rates will continue to increase, the size of that increase is less than it has been for the past two years. New York has one of the best managed and best funded pension funds in the country. I remain confident that our long-term investment strategy will help us to weather this volatile economic environment.”

For the 2012-13, the average contribution rate for the Employee Retirement System will grow from 16.3 percent to 18.9 percent. In the Police and Fire Retirment System, the rate is increasing from 21.6 percent to 25.8 percent, DiNapoli said.

These rate increases take effect in February and come as local governments prepare budgets that take into account Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2 percent cap on local property taxes. The cap includes exemptions for pension growth within 2.2 percent.

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