By Jay Sekulow
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More than a third of the nation's $9.3 trillion in pension assets belong to state and local government employees, even though they make up only 15 percent of the U.S. work force, a study shows.
The $3.4 trillion total set aside for public pensions understates the burden for states and taxpayers since the plans collectively are underfunded by as much as $2.5 trillion, said Milton Ezrati, senior economist at Lord Abbott & Co.
Public-sector unions claim outsized share of U.S. pension assets →
Still, the budget emergency is providing states and cities the cover to make adjustments such as raising the retirement age that are needed to make the pensions more affordable, adjustments that would have been "politically impossible" in more prosperous times, Mr. Ezrati said.
Public-sector unions claim outsized share of U.S. pension assets →
