As promised...
Posted on 02/08/2009 10:09:28 PM PST by george76
The State of Illinois has the most underfunded public pension plans in the nation, with a funding gap that is now approaching $50 billion. The low balances in the state's pension accounts have been made worse by the stock market crash, which has also hit Chicago's and Cook County's employee pension plans.
Here's a look at the dire situation for the retirement plans of state workers ranging from police to judges to university professors to members of the Illinois General Assembly. All are counting on generous state pensions, but may soon wake up to a brutal reality.
A financial war is brewing -- and it's likely to pit these public employees against Illinois taxpayers who are responsible for paying those generous pension promises. There simply isn't enough money in all these retirement plans (see box) to send out the promised checks. If you think Bernie Madoff had a Ponzi scheme going, wait until the wave of boomer retirement hits the reality of pension underfunding.
The state pension plans have been underfunded for a long time. But the problem is going critical because of the stock market crash. Unless you're willing to bet on a major bull market appearing in the next few years, there are only three solutions: raise taxes, increase employee contributions, or cut pension benefits.
The Illinois state-funded pension system is the most underfunded in the nation. By midsummer 2008, the five state retirement plans showed a $44 billion unfunded liability. The plans, on average, were at only about 50 percent of the required funding level. And that was before the stock market crash, which likely decimated the stock portion of the investment by another third.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
Underfunded?
that's Demspeak for looted..
Rahm Emmanuel, who comes from IL, will make sure that our present economic cris, and other crisis, “do not go to waste.”
These pillars of Democrat control of Illinois politics will be bailed out by the FEDS as long as Obama is around.
If there would seem to be an area that is incontrovertibly a state responsibility it would be the pension programs for the benefit of state employees. But, in the Obama era...I think I can hear the justification for...TARP money!
Why an elected official would /ever/ get a retirement plan, I don’t get. Oh, wait, they gave themselves a retirement plan. How nice of them. Dump the retirement plans, refund any contributions made by public employees (I’m sure the fund can meet that obligation) and dissolve it. Let the people who invested in it go find their own plans to get involved in.
You want a good retirement plan? Make one yourself, or get involved in a company that makes enough money in profit to finance your desires.
I’m all for pension plans, but the generosity in some of these borders on the ridiculous. Some of these pensions guarantee 80% of the person’s salary based on their 5 highest paid years until they die.
Hell, give me that deal every day of the week. No way I’m going to see that in the private sector.
Not looted. The money was never in these funds in the first place.
The problem isn't lack of funding, it's excess of promising. Easy to offer the world when you'll be decades out of office when the bill comes due.
There is a virtual certainty that Hussein will take federal money and give it to the states to continue to buy votes/fund government subsidies.
110%
Chicago is a cancer on the rest of illinois.
I would have more sympathy, but when I went to my child's "Back to School" night I was appalled at the liberal, pagan, socialist agenda the schools had sunk their fangs into.
Moreover, when Hussein Obama was crowned, two of my children were forced to watch 5 straight hours of coverage of the "Blessed Event."
These "educators" can live on bird feed. It is all they deserve.
Not to worry. The Dims will generously pledge the Federal Government to take over all such state pension obligations. Then they’ll raid our private 401k’s and everyone will end up dependent on the public teat for a few drops to stay alive.
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