How State Unfunded Pension Liabilities Affect Big Cities

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cities have to report a new pension liability number on their balance sheets in 2015 due to new standards from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).  How Will State Unfunded Pension Liabilities Affect Big Cities?, released today by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, examines the implications for 173 cities.

Written by Alicia H. Munnell and Jean-Pierre Aubry, the brief's key findings include:

• When the unfunded liability is reallocated from the state to the 92 cities in cost-sharing plans, the liability burden almost doubles.
• While this is not a new liability, it is raising concerns for cities in these cost-sharing plans because the liability had previously been reported as an aggregate figure in the state government's financial statements.

The study sample includes individual results for 173 major cities, 92 of which participate in cost-sharing state plans.

Read the full report on the Center's website.

About the Center for State and Local Government Excellence
The Center for State and Local Government Excellence helps state and local governments become knowledgeable and competitive employers so they can attract and retain a talented and committed workforce. The Center identifies best practices and conducts research on competitive employment practices, workforce development, pensions, retiree health security, and financial planning. The Center also brings state and local leaders together with respected researchers and features the latest demographic data on the aging workforce, research studies, and news on health care, recruitment, and succession planning on its website, www.slge.org.

SOURCE Center for State and Local Government Excellence

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