State pension gap continues to grow
By Stephen C.
Fehr, Stateline Staff Writer
The damage done by the Great Recession to state
public pension systems is now clearer than ever:
The most recent available figures, for fiscal year
2009, show that the gap...
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State pension gap continues to grow
By Stephen C.
Fehr, Stateline Staff Writer
The damage done by the Great Recession to state
public pension systems is now clearer than ever:
The most recent available figures, for fiscal year
2009, show that the gap between what states had
set aside to pay for employee retirement benefits
and the amount they had promised the workers
had grown to $1.
26 trillion, or 26 percent in one
year, according to a report released today.
The report by the Pew Center on the States
(Stateline’s parent organization) covered the worst
budget year of the recession, one that included
the Wall Street financial crisis in September, 2008.
The report found that during the period from July
1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, state public pension
plans had accumulated nearly $3.
6 trillion in
pension and retiree health care cost obligations
but had set aside only $2.
34 trillion to pay
for them.
The $1.
26 trillion difference between liabilities
and assets in 2009 marks a substan
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