The MBTA’s secretive pension fund could soon be made public after the House unanimously voted to open the books on T retirees’ payouts.

“I did feel it was the right time and the right thing to do,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, who has made transparency a cornerstone of his leadership. “I think that for us to be living up to our word on true transparency, this was something that was necessary to do.”

DeLeo, who called 153 House legislators’ unanimous vote “emblematic,” signaled his support for lifting the veil on the MBTA Retirement Fund about a week after Sen. President Therese Murray helped push a similar measure through the Senate.

The Carmen’s Union and Massachusetts AFL-CIO have lobbied to keep MBTA pensions private, but critics say the retiree payouts should be public because the taxpayer-funded authority’s share of pension contributions has grown to $52.3 million as of 2011.

“I’m glad the House is finally seeing the light,” said Rep. Shaunna O’Connell (R-Taunton), who has filed legislation since last year to make public MBTA pensions. “The taxpayers deserve to know what the pension liabilities are and the pension payouts for the MBTA.”

The Senate moved to make the long-secret MBTA pensions public as part of a massive $500 million transportation spending package about a week ago. Sen. William Brownsberger (D-Belmont) told the Herald he pushed the issue again after reading the Herald’s reports on the secretive pension system.

State Rep. William M. Straus (D-Mattapoisett), chairman of the Joint Transportation Committee who drafted the successful legislation in the House, said his budget amendment would make MBTA pensions subject to the state’s public records law.

“Whether they go online or not I could not say, but they become public records,” said Straus shortly before last night’s vote.

The Senate legislation requires MBTA pensions be published on the state’s Open Checkbook website.