Friday, April 24, 2020

The COVID-19 Economic Collapse Is Absolutely Wrecking State Pension Systems

Even after an impressive bull run on the stock market, state pension funds across the country were facing more than $1 trillion in unfunded debts even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Some state pension systems were nearly fully funded before the current crisis, and therefore figure to be in better shape to survive it without major problems.

We won't know for sure how badly state pension systems got whacked by the coronavirus-induced economic crash until later in the year, but a new tool released by the Reason Foundation's pension integrity project offers a glimpse into the potential damage.

Using current data from state pension plans and forecasted investment losses, the tool estimates how much more debt states could be facing by the end of the year.

The economic downturn creates a one-two punch for state pensions.

New Jersey State Senate President Stephen Sweeney has called for the feds to offer low-interest loans to states facing severe pension problems.

"Public pension systems may be more vulnerable to an economic downturn than they have ever been," Greg Mennis, Susan Banta, and David Draine, three researchers at the Harvard Kennedy School, concluded in a 2018 analysis that "Stress tested" each state's pension system.

https://reason.com/2020/04/24/the-covid-19-economic-collapse-is-decimating-state-pension-systems/

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