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Pew Center for the States Director Kil Huh on the widening pension fund gap in states across the country.
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-- -- talk about states trying to tighten their belts -- deep benefit retirement plan cuts.
But how angry do you get when report after report comes out sure it's not working.
A new study finds there's now a one point eight trillion dollar gap between what states have promised to pay and the money they actually have set aside to pay it.
I can't help but wonder if our state lawmakers think they're doing -- fast enough here with me is kill hot direct.
-- -- means so much for joining us.
I understand that you just put -- this report within the last hour and the numbers are staggering for example Connecticut.
Illinois Kentucky -- Rhode Island were among the worst and they are all under 55%.
Funded is that right.
That's right Melissa states collectively have a one point 38 trillion dollar gap -- they're confronted when it comes to.
The promises they've made -- there retirees and the money that they've set aside to pay for.
It's a 9% increase from 2009 to 2010.
But these numbers are staggering -- -- What has happened in the states and -- and what is their hope of fixing that problem if they are 55%.
Funded I mean that's there barely halfway there.
Well states have been.
Digging themselves into this hole for some time now for more than a decade on it wasn't uncommon for lawmakers to either skip payments are short changed payments to their pension plans.
I'm in fact even states like Rhode Island who have you know really good record of paying their annual contributions year after year recently.
You know dot had a whole too big due to begin with and they really needed significant reform as a result.
Forced states were funded at 95% or better I was sort of surprised to see that -- was North Carolina South Dakota Washington and Wisconsin.
What have those and we we certainly know that was -- one of those states done right.
Well those states kept paying their bill year after year and that's a big part of what our study found that.
States attended to pay their annual -- year after year weren't far better funding shape -- those that haven't.
While the other thing that they did was also to keep track of benefits they weren't increasing benefits that they couldn't pay for.
And also they made Smart assumptions on and and that's another key component of this.
I don't know if you -- -- and it Charlie Gasparino from here at the Fox Business Network on earth this report out of JPMorgan on the state pension funds.
That hated it even more bleak picture saying the whole is more like four billion dollars and it said that.
You know even -- states like New Jersey it would have to cut spending -- 30%.
Or raise taxes another seventeen point 2% and keep that going for two decades just to close the hall to those numbers on -- you.
Well it depends on the assumption is that you're using but there's no doubt that pensions are an increasingly.
Big part of the budget pressure of the states are facing right now.
I'm as a 2000 intend they should have set aside -- 124 billion dollars to pay for their annual pensions as -- as retiree health care payments.
-- since 2000 that number is actually gone up a 174%.
So as you can see.
Pensions are now competing with the for things like education health care and important services that taxpayers have come to rely on.
Yeah absolutely -- at four billion obviously -- fortunately and we all wish it was just four billion.
Now -- easy in this point thank you so much for joining us and we appreciate it.
