LEHIGH VALLEY MORNING CALL: …The six states in the study accounted for about half the shortfall. But Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s most populous states, is paying about one-third of what it should be paying into its pension funds, said Nathan Benefield, a policy analyst for the Commonwealth Foundation, a right-leaning Harrisburg think-tank.
The state is contributing about $2.5 billion annually to pension funds for state employees and teachers. It should be contributing about $6 billion, Benefield said.
The state paid the price this week for its volatile pension system when the ratings service Moody’s downgraded the state’s bond rating a notch. The investment service cited “the expectation that large and growing pension liabilities and moderate economic growth will challenge the return to structural balance, contributing to a protracted financial recovery.” … (more)
