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Friday, February 3, 2012

PA's pension gap

It's bad enough that local Pennsylvania property taxpayers will be paying more in the coming year to fund a 43% jump in public payments to the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS), in order to cover the growing gap between investment profits and future pensions.

It's worse that state taxpayers will have to raise nearly $300 million more than last year to help close that same gap.

It would be even worse if recent legislation hadn't prevented an even faster increase in the pension subsidy - which just pushes the problem further into the future, notes Richard C. Dreyfuss of the conservative Commonwealth Foundation.

Add current contributions, plus contributions to the similarly underfunded Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System, and for retiree medical costs, and we're starting to tear a multibillion-dollar hole in the state budget. 

But Dreyfuss doubts Gov. Corbett is prepared to fill that hole in his pending new budget proposals -- either with higher contributions, or caps on pensions for legislators, senior school administrators and others with six-figure yearly retirements, or by replacing the system with a private-sector, 401-k-style plan. 

Because it's the Pennsylvania way to push this kind of problem to the next generation. Read Dreyfuss' article here.
Posted by Joseph N. DiStefano @ 11:41 AM  Permalink | 3 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:57 AM, 02/03/2012
    Just think of all the investment advisors, lawyers, bankers and other assorted leeches drooling over the prospects of PSERS Chairman Nick Maiale being handed a couple of hundred million to "invest" for the taxpayers. Happy Days Are Here Again.
    — Wilhelm Von Humboldt
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:47 PM, 02/03/2012
    Yep, they will be drinking top shelf and living large at taxpayers expense!
    — Occupy reality
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:25 PM, 02/03/2012
    What this proves is that no governor of either party is willing to end his political career by being fiscally responsible. People get the govt, they vote for and deserve. The politicians pensions be paid in full. That is the important thing.
    — dunce


3 comments
About Joseph N. DiStefano
Joseph N. DiStefano writes this blog to feed his PhillyDeals column in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Joe has been a member of Bloomberg LP’s New York Finance Team, wrote the book “Comcasted,” taught writing at St. Joseph’s University, and studied economics and history at Penn. Reach Joe at 215-854-5194 and JoeD@phillynews.com
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