5 States with Pension Time Bombs

No matter how you slice it, $3 trillion is a lot of money. That's the amount of money states will need to come up with to pay for the health care and retirement benefits of all of their employees if stock markets fail to rise in coming years. It's the result of a bargain struck by governments across the nation that sought to build workforces with salaries below comparable private sector jobs. Lower salaries and higher retirement benefits were a deal many were willing to make. The system worked very well as long as the stock market steadily rose and pension funds generated enough profits to match looming obligations. But two things went wrong. First, the stock… . . . → Full Story: 5 States with Pension Time Bombs