"The state's pension fund now holds less than 45% of the funds it needs to meet future obligations to workers, plunging below the halfway mark for the first time in more than two decades, according to the latest, biennial report from fund analysts," reports the Connecticut Mirror
The new actuarial valuation also found that while fund investment earnings rebounded over the last year, they could not overcome significant losses from 2009, coupled with various pension-weakening maneuvers ordered due to the state budget crisis.
State government had $9.35 billion in assets in the pension fund as of June 30, 2010 compared with $21.1 billion in obligations, which together represent a funded ratio of 44.4 percent according to the valuation. Actuaries typically cite a ratio of 80 percent as fiscally healthy the Mirror noted.
The state's annual pension contribution, which currently stands at $844 million, is projected to grow just beyond $1 billion next year according to the valuation.
