Another chunk of the pension funding shortfall came from assumption changes, with states mostly lowering the assumed rate of return used to calculate pension costs. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The funding gap for state pensions grew for fiscal year 2016, with a number of failures to reach sustainability.
That's according to an analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which examined 2016 because it was the most recent year for which comprehensive data were available for all 50 states. Among the problems it identified that increased the gap were states coming up short on their investment targets; setting those targets too high; andfailing to set aside enough money to fund pension promises made to public employees.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
