New Jersey got in trouble with federal regulators for misrepresenting the health of its pension funds. But the bigger problem may be what the state was trying to hide: a long-brewing crisis in its ability to pay retirees. The state’s most recent report said that as of June 2009, the pension funds should have had assets of $112 billion to meet their future obligations, but had only $66 billion — one of the largest shortfalls, known as unfunded liability, in the country. The situation is probably worse today: The state is supposed to contribute about $3 billion a year to the funds, but amid huge budget deficits and spending cuts, it is in the second consecutive year of contributing nothing.
NYT / ai5000
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