New report from Pew Center on the States: PERSI fund a ‘top performer’ among states
The Pew Center on the States released a national report yesterday entitled "The Trillion-Dollar Gap: Underfunded State Retirement Systems and the Road to Reform." What it found: Many state pension plans are in big trouble, but not Idaho's. Instead, Idaho was one of nine states named a "solid performer." The report said, "Idaho is a top performer when it comes to managing its long-term pension liability, but needs to improve how it handles the bill coming due for retiree health care and other benefits." As far as unfunded liabilities in the PERSI fund, which House GOP lawmakers bemoaned today, the report said, "The state has consistently met or surpassed its actuarily required contribution levels each year since 1997, and it has funded 93 percent of its total pension obligation - well above the 80 percent benchmark that the U.S. Government Accountability Office says is preferred by experts." You can see the full report here.