December 18, 2007
Study: Trouble Ahead For Aging Public Employees
According to a new study billed as the first of its kind, states are about $731 billion short of what they need to cover pensions, health care and other long-term obligations for retiring public workers.
The Pew Charitable Trusts report [PDF] covers all 50 states, and examines what states already have in the bank vs. what they will eventually need. Pew estimates that, all told, states will be on the hook for $2.73 trillion over the next three decades. Researchers describe that figure as conservative.
Some states are squirreling away more efficiently than others. Only Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin were ready to fully fund nonpensions benefits for the next 30 years by FY 2006, the report found. None of the five largest states had saved money for nonpensions benefits.
Several states are taking measures to correct the problem, including raising the retirement age and setting up trusts to pay for retiree health care. Bloomberg and Reuters have more on the study.
