Last week, there was a hearing in Hartford reviewing the investment performance of the state’s two big public pension funds. There was much self-congratulation. Hearst newspapers published a headline: “CT’s pensions hit $55B with a strong ’23 but debate rages over how we stack up.”
First, hitting $55 billion in assets is meaningless. What matters is whether those assets are sufficient to cover future pension costs. They are not.
Second, there’s no debate about “how we stack up.” The article confirmed once again the inadequate funding of the state’s big public pension funds, which rank – again – in the bottom five of the 50 states.
There was no mention at all of one major factor impacting “how we stack up"...