CRAWFORD: PERS unfunded liability has ballooned

BILL CRAWFORD: PERS’ deficit ‘mortgage’ ballooning, not shrinking

You know how a mortgage works right? You make your monthly payments and gradually your mortgage balance comes down.

Pat Robertson, executive director of the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), tells legislators and retirees to think of PERS’ massive $16.8 billion funding shortfall as a mortgage: “Having an unfunded liability (deficit) is analogous to having a mortgage and making mortgage payments faithfully every month.”

Well, PERS’ deficit “mortgage” does not work like yours and mine. Despite four years of payments, the balance has ballooned, not shrunk. And the number of years to pay off the mortgage has jumped from 30 to 40.6 years.

Daily Journal
12/4/16