Posts tagged unfunded liabilities
Commentary: CalPERS takes unnecessary risks that could cost taxpayers
February 3, 2025 // When CalPERS fails to meet its expected investment returns, California’s state and local governments—meaning taxpayers—are solely responsible for covering the resulting shortfall. Public pension liabilities are legally binding. There is no defaulting on them. Consequently, when public pension system investments underperform, government employers—again, taxpayers—must cover the gap.
In Final Weeks Before Election, PBGC Bails Out Several More Failing Union Pensions
October 27, 2024 // With the November 5th elections right around the corner, throughout the months of September and October, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has been busy approving and announcing the doling out of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to failing union pension plans. While the plan bailouts are not as large as some of the bailouts provided over the last two years, in total, they are a substantial sum—nearly $900 million.
Government Unions Target Fiscal Sanity in Connecticut
February 14, 2024 // Now, state unions under the umbrella of the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition are clamoring for the removal of the fiscal guardrails that were constructed to prevent the same unions from driving taxpayers over the cliff. The staggering state debt of more than $80 billion, including unfunded pension debt from the state workers’ and teachers’ pension funds, bonded debt, and health-care liabilities, was the result of years of irresponsibility and political horse-trading with state unions that were all too eager to negotiate benefits without a sustainable funding plan.