CHART: The Worst Funded Pension Plans in RI
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Below is GoLocalProv’s ranking of the worst funded retirement systems in Rhode Island.
Where does your community rank?
How the rankings were calculated: GoLocalProv included the unfunded liabilities for pensions as well as retiree health care. In order to make a fair comparison between communities of differing sizes but similar problems—such as Central Falls and Providence—each were ranked on the basis of what percentage of their entire retirement system was unfunded. Those cities or towns with the highest percentages have a poorly funded system and rank higher on the chart than those with healthy retirement systems.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAbout the numbers: The data was compiled by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and is based on the most recently available municipal audits, which are filed with the state annually. The below data includes the total liability that each town has—combining the liabilities in any local plans the town administers with the liabilities it has in the Municipal Employees Retirement System, which is administered by the state. The data does not include the local share for teacher pensions because those are in the Employees Retirement System of Rhode Island. As a result, the liability for those rests with the state, not local municipalities, according to RIPEC.
