Already Gone II: Minnesota’s Public Pensions Drop To 7th-worst Funded From 30th (Heartache Tonight?)

This is a syndicated repost courtesy of Snake Hole Lounge. To view original, click here. Reposted with permission.
The Eagles said it best in their song: (Minnesota’s public pensions are) already gone. They left out the part where Minnesota tax payers are on the hook for $33.4 billion in debt ($6,000 for every resident).
(Bloomberg) – Minnesota’s debt to its workers’ retirement system has soared by $33.4 billion, or $6,000 for every resident, courtesy of accounting rules.
The jump caused the finances of Minnesota’s pensions to erode more than any other state’s last year as accounting standards seek to prevent governments from using overly optimistic assumptions to minimize what they owe public employees decades from now. Because of changes in actuarial math, Minnesota in 2016 reported having just 53 percent of what it needed to cover promised benefits, down from 80 percent a year earlier, transforming it from one of the best funded state systems to the seventh worst, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
‘It’s a crisis,’ said Susan Lenczewski, executive director of the state’s Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement.

This post was published at Wall Street Examiner on September 2, 2017.