New Jersey’s pension liabilities totaled $58 billion in 2000.
Today the number stands at a staggering $208,173,146, and according to Pew Charitable Trust, the funded ratio is only 38% – the country’s second worst behind only Illinois despite recent investments.
Governor Phil Murphy hasn’t done anything to solve the problem. The state made a “full” payment in 2022 for the first time since 1997, but back in July of the year, S&P analysts described the system as “still generally poor.” Trenton’s priorities? Getting out of the fossil fuel game by divesting pension assets from oil at a time when energy prices are soaring. It’s the height of stupidity.
The pension debt bomb is national in nature albeit more acute in large blue states like New Jersey. “Because state revenue grew at less than half the rate of pension contributions, the share of public resources going toward pensions rose significantly, sapping more than $300 billion in state and local funding that might otherwise have been available for other spending priorities,” Pew explains.
Click here to view the full report.
