Posted on 08/02/2012 4:43:41 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The Maryland state retirement and pension system is in bad shape. The deluxe benefits package has $37 billion in assets, but even that amount isnt enough to meet the promises made to government bureaucrats. In the last fiscal year, this prodigious sum was invested in a way that yielded a negligible 0.36 percent return.
That would be bad enough, but State Treasurer Nancy Kopp, chairman of the pension-system trustees, insists on pretending the fund is earning 7.75 percent for the purposes of calculating future value. This accounting gimmick masks the dire situation of the programs finances. Retirement funds are generally considered solvent when they have enough assets to cover at least 80 percent of future obligations. The most generous estimates put Marylands pension funding level at a bare 64 percent.
Expecting a 7.75 percent return in the future is unrealistic, even though such returns were possible in the past. The sluggish U.S. economy, recession in Europe and declining growth rates in China and India are signs the future wont be quite so bright. The average annual return in the last five years has been a dismal 0.78 percent. Dialing back the expectations by just a quarter of a percent increases the pension systems unfunded liabilities from $20 billion to $24 billion.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Where are they getting the 0.36 at?
My CD’s are earning 0.10.
I am getting ready to move them , I found a place earning 0.80.
This is what we get for electing Obama.
Dude, this is so GHEI.
How come they never include in the story about a Govenor raiding the money to cover his spending?
Ongoing in a state near you. Blue States hardest hit.
I am getting ready to move them , I found a place earning 0.80.
Teh Ghei!
I’m pretending that the money in my savings account is earning 10%. I went to the bank to withdraw my pretend earnings and they threw a stapler at me.
We left Maryland for Colorado in 1972 and haven’t had one regret since.
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