Posted on 12/14/2012 5:37:16 AM PST by haffast
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois' public pension funding problems, likely to persist if not worsen, led Moody's Investors Service on Thursday to revise the state's credit outlook to negative from stable, putting more pressure on state lawmakers to act.
Illinois' finances are buckling under a $96.8 billion unfunded pension liability while Governor Pat Quinn and various state lawmakers are pushing to get various reform measures passed by the legislature in early January.
But Moody's, which affirmed Illinois' A2 rating, said the passage of any reforms stands a good chance of being challenged in court on the basis of strong state constitutional protections for pension benefits.
snip
At A2, Illinois' credit rating is the lowest among states that Moody's rates.
A bipartisan proposal that surfaced in the Illinois House last week would boost workers' pension contributions, raise retirement ages and limit cost-of-living increases for retirees with the aim of fully funding pensions in 30 years.
The plan would also gradually shift pension payments currently made by the state to local schools districts, universities and colleges.
Illinois has skipped or skimped on pension payments for years, leaving it with the lowest funded ratio among states. That ratio fell to 39 percent at the end of fiscal 2012 from 43.3 percent, with both well below the 80 percent level considered healthy.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Only a matter of time till they formally request their Obama bailout.
No RTW needed in Illnois. Gotta love that Union huh? Hey Illnois deal with it and leave the rest of us out of it. Stuck on Stupid!
that’s why they have 401ks.
to take from those who ‘won life’s lottery’, as Dash-hole used to say.
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