By George Gombossy
Those who think that Connecticut’s pension debt problem for government workers is something that can be left on the back burner, may want to check out what is going on in New Jersey.
New Jersey Republican and Democratic legislators enacted bills signed into Law by Gov. Christopher Christie Monday that forces all state employees to contribute more to their health-care insurance and cuts pension benefits for new hires. The laws also limit payouts for unused sick leave, and limits pension boosts.
New Jersey – as the result of rich pension and health benefits approved to gain votes from state employees – faces unfunded pension benefits of $46 billion, according to an article today in the Wall Street Journal.
These projections are based on what some financial experts say are overly rosy projections on the return the states can earn on money socked away to pay for these benefits. If more conservative rates of return in the six percent rate are used, the debt could increase dramatically.
No comments:
Post a Comment