Task Force on Pensions

Mission

State legislatures have diligently addressed numerous policy and fiscal challenges to their public employee pension systems since 2005. Those challenges, particularly those related to funding issues, are likely to extend for the remainder of this decade.

Additionally, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has adopted new pension accounting standards to be fully implemented by 2015 that will significantly alter governmental pension obligation calculations. These standards also discontinue the calculation of the annual required contribution states make to meet their obligations. States will have to make adjustments in order to comport with the incrementally implemented changes made by GASB.

Moody’s Investors Service is on the brink of adjusting its state and local government pension cost analytical data, likely producing information that could conflict with state annual financial reports and could affect governmental credit ratings and, therefore, borrowing costs.

Numerous economists, media resources, and study groups continue to make their own measurements of short- and long-term funded and unfunded governmental pension obligations. These latter measurements can add confusion and conflict to what already is a very complex subject matter.

Finally, the federal government has exhibited some interest in developing uniform pension reporting standards for states and localities, establishing a uniform discount rate, prohibiting bailouts of governmental pension systems and inserting itself into a debate based on the mistaken contention that state governments cannot resolve their pension system challenges.

Chair

Members