From the PENNSYLVANIA INDEPENDENT:
…The state pension systems are nearing a major breaking point, which will require a significant increase in taxpayer funding by 2012 in order to keep up with rising pension liabilities. According to projections provided by the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives, the average household payment for [Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS) and the State Employee Retirement System (SERS)] will jump from $212 in 2010 to more than $1,500 by 2013.
The pension problem is really two problems, said Knepp. There is the immediate need for cash to pay the $3.8 billion unfunded liabilities for SERS, and the nearly $15 billion in unfunded liabilities for PSERS. The second problem is the system itself, which the Commonwealth may be unable to maintain because of the costs involved…
“The state employees and the teachers have been putting their fair share in every year and we have not. Shame on us that it hasn’t occurred, we should have been doing this all along,” said Rep Mario Scavello (R-Monroe)…
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