[movermike] movermike: Unfunded Pension Liabilities

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Posted by movermike:
Unfunded Pension Liabilities
http://www.movermike.com/posts/1177377343.shtml


   When it comes to unfunded pension liabilities, [1]Forbes has the top
   five states as: California at $70 billion, New Jersey at $60 billion,
   New York at $54 billion, Texas at $26.8 billion and North Carolina at
   $23.8 billion.

     [2]Texas Comptroller Susan Combs says she won't follow a new
     national accounting standard that requires states and cities to
     disclose the estimated costs of benefits promised to retired
     workers, such as health care and life insurance.

     [...]

     Disclosing its future costs may force Texas to raise taxes,
     increase borrowing, sell assets or cut programs to come up with the
     money. Refusing to recognize them may jeopardize the ratings on $22
     billion of outstanding bonds and prompt investors to demand higher
     yields when they lend to the state.

   Oregon may have an unfunded pension liability as well. John Radford,
   State Controller, Oregon Department of Administrative Services writes

     the state will receive the results from an actuary study around mid
     April of 2007

   Several things popped out at me from the article in Bloomberg: if it
   isn't reported officials don't have to do anything about the problem;
   Managers who purchase bonds for mutual funds or hedge funds have a
   need to know; your pension benefits, unless in a defined plan, are
   only promises and Combs says The state has no legal obligation to
   provide such benefits; if the voters find out the real costs, they may
   refuse to vote for taxes to cover unfunded pension liabilities and
   thus benefits would be reduced; finally,

     actuaries have told us it's nearly impossible to calculate numbers
     30 years into the future

   [3]The NewsRegister reported

     Oregon pension fund, battered by investment losses during the
     recession, once had a long-term deficit projected at $17 billion.

   Because of the strong economy that deficit was reduced to $1.7
   billion, so you can see the problem with estimates, but to refuse to
   disclose is a whole different issue.

   [4]unfunded pension liabilities [5]Texas Comptroller Susan Combs
   [6]SusanCombs [7]John Radford, State Controller [8]Mover Mike

References

   1. http://bettergovernmentproject.blogspot.com/2007/04/non-pension-benefits-liability-looms.html
   2. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a8bnXx3cK9mg&refer=news
   3. http://www.newsregister.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=199238
   4. http://technorati.com/tag/unfunded+pension+liabilities
   5. http://technorati.com/tag/Texas+Comptroller+Susan+Combs
   6. http://technorati.com/tag/Susan+Combs
   7. http://technorati.com/tag/John+Radford,+State+Controller
   8. http://technorati.com/tag/Mover+Mike