A new assessment of state pension obligations suggests the problem is even worse than it already appears. How much worse? Using a more conservative method of accounting for financial gains in the marketplace, there is a $4.1 trillion gap between assets and liabilities — known as the “unfunded liability” — of all state-level pension systems in the United States, according to State Budget Solutions, a fiscally conservative think tank that deals with tax and spending issues at the state level.

On a per-capita basis, each American would have to fork over about $13,100 to fill that gap and fulfill the promises made to current and retired state workers. The new survey makes the pension crisis look worse than in other reports because of the way State Budget Solutions calculates the plans’ unfunded liabilities.

The group uses a measure called “market value liability,” which assumes that pension funds will earn about 3.22% annually — in line with what long-term U.S. Treasury bonds pay. That measure is more accurate than often bloated assumptions that underpin most state pension plans.

  Wall Street Pit / Budget Solutions