Pension Payback Time…In Budget Crisis, States Take Aim at Pension Costs
Posted By thestatedtruth.com on June 20, 2010
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Posted June 20,2010
Many states are acknowledging this year that they have promised pensions they cannot afford and are cutting once-sacrosanct benefits, to appease taxpayers and attack budget deficits.
Gov. Pat Quinn said an overhaul would save Illinois’s pension system $300 million in its first year. But the fund is weakened.
Payback Time    Untouchable Benefits
Articles in this series are examining the consequences of, and efforts to deal with, growing public and private debts.
Illinois raised its retirement age to 67, the highest of any state, and capped public pensions at $106,800 a year. Arizona, New York, Missouri and Mississippi will make people work more years to earn pensions. Virginia is requiring employees to pay into the state pension fund for the first time. New Jersey will not give anyone pension credit unless they work at least 32 hours a week.
“We can’t afford to deny reality or delay action any longer,†said Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois, adding that his state’s pension cuts, enacted in March, will save some $300 million in the first year alone.
To read the entire article, go to:,http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/business/20pension.html
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