This Sounds Familiar
Cassandra was a Trojan princess who had the gift of prophecy. She foresaw that the abduction of Helen would bring about the destruction of Troy. Her curse was that nobody believed her. At the Show-Me Institute, we weren’t blessed with Cassandra’s ability, but when we look at the future of Missouri’s public pensions, we see potential disaster ahead.
Last year, the Show-Me Institute released a report by Dr. Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute. The report showed how Missouri public pension plans are underestimating the total amount of unfunded liabilities (total pension obligations that exceed the amount of assets the pension plan has) that they have. In fact, using more realistic assumptions, five of the state’s largest pensions have unfunded liabilities FIVE TIMES larger than what is reported ($54 billion actual vs $11 billion reported). That is a serious amount of money, and if these pensions do not have the assets to cover their obligations, then the taxpayer (you and me) will be left footing the bill.
State Budget Solutions, to my knowledge, does not have the gift of prophecy either. Yet they see what we see when they look at the status of state public pensions. Their new report discusses the unfunded liabilities of every state’s pension system. The content of the report sounds familiar because, like Dr. Biggs, they find that using more realistic assumptions about plan returns, state public pensions are significantly underfunded. According to State Budget Solutions, Missouri’s pensions aren’t among the worst nationally. That doesn’t mean things are good and the state’s pensions don’t need reform. If I’m stuck holding a stick of dynamite, while my neighbor is holding an atomic bomb, it doesn’t mean I’m going to be okay when the dynamite goes off.
Unfortunately, there has been little progress into actually achieving pension reform in Missouri. At the very least, the state needs to work to stop additional liabilities from being added to the already enormous amount the state already owes. Shifting to a defined contribution plan or a cash balance plan would be a good place to start. Then, policymakers can work on addressing the gap between pension assets and the monies these plans owe.
Cassandra warned of danger, and she was not believed. That was her curse. Hopefully, Missouri can avoid Troy’s fate.
