State, Local Governments Have Only Funded 35 Cents of Every Dollar Committed to Pensions

[Geee]

Heritage Foundation:

$5.6 trillion.

 

That’s how much a recent report from the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, estimates state and local governments across the U.S. have promised to their employees, but can’t afford to pay.

 

Normally, if an employer promises its worker more than it can pay, its workers lose out, but that’s unlikely to be the case here.

 

Since most state and local pension promises represent legal obligations, it will be state and local taxpayers who bear the burden of their governments’ unfunded promises.

 

According to the report, state and local governments as a whole have set aside only 35 cents for every dollar of pension promises. Their $5.6 trillion of unfunded pension liabilities works out to $17,427 for every man, woman, and child in America (or about $70,000 for a family of four).