The MBTA’s top pensioner — a deputy general manager at the helm of the troubled transit agency during last year’s epic winter meltdown — landed a job at a T contractor after retiring at age 50 with a nearly $98,000-a-year payout, the Herald has learned.

Sean McCarthy, who retired as the T’s chief operating officer on June 1, now works at MBTA contractor STV Inc., which provides the agency with electrical, vehicle and civil engineering services, said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

The MBTA has paid STV at least $11.3 million since fiscal 2014 and the company has taken in more than $3.3 million so far this fiscal year, state records show.

While there is no requirement for retirees to inform the MBTA about new employment, T pensioners are prohibited from doing any work with the MBTA for at least one year after retirement, Pesaturo said.

Pesaturo said McCarthy did not oversee STV or other contractors while working for the T and has had no role with the agency since his retirement — an assertion also made by STV.

Asked whether McCarthy negotiated for his current job while at the MBTA, Pesaturo referred questions to McCarthy.

McCarthy did not return multiple calls seeking comment yesterday, but his new employer sent a statement to the Herald.

“We had no discussions with Sean McCarthy regarding employment while he was employed by the MBTA,” said STV spokeswoman Jill Bonamusa.

“Mr. McCarthy retired from the MBTA on June 1, 2015. Discussions regarding his employment began after his retirement. He was employed by STV on July 1, 2015. Mr. McCarthy is part of a team of experts who provide operational and safety advice to transit clients across North America. He has not worked on any MBTA projects during his tenure with STV,” Bonamusa said.

McCarthy, who retired in the wake of massive service shutdowns during last year’s winter blizzards, took in the top annual rate of all T pensioners in 2015 at $97,617, according to records the MBTA provided to the Herald.

As the secretive MBTA retirement board continues to fight efforts to open its books, T bosses posted pension data for the past two years online in a move toward more transparency.

There were 5,265 T retirees on the pension rolls last year, records show.

“The Fiscal and Management Control Board feels strongly that transparency is a critical component of its ongoing efforts to bring financial stability to the MBTA,” Pesaturo said.

T pension costs are expected to climb to at least $92.7 million next fiscal year — a 17 percent increase from the $79 million the MBTA paid to the T retirement board this year.

MBTA pension payouts have climbed nearly 40 percent since 2012 and the system is already saddled with an estimated $868 million in unfunded liability. That number is expected to climb even higher because T retirement board officials failed to factor in unused paid sick time, which retiring T workers are using to boost their pensions.

The Herald reported in January that T workers had banked more than 380,000 unused sick days as of the end of 2014.