Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) signed a pension-overhaul bill on Monday that the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts says will be one of the most comprehensive state-level reforms in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported today. The compromise measure will move most future state and public school workers at least partly into 401(k)-style plans to help shore up the deeply underfunded pension system and shift market risk from taxpayers to employees. An independent analysis estimates the state will save $5 billion to $20 billion over 30 years, depending on investment performance. Pennsylvania is one of many states, including New Jersey, Illinois and Connecticut, grappling with rising pension costs and huge unfunded liabilities — the gap between promised benefits and the funding available to meet those obligations. A 2015 Pew report found that the nation’s state-run retirement systems had a collective $968 billion shortfall.
