From The Seattle Times:
Changes loom for Washington state pension system could be short, fewer words
As public pension plans come under fire around the country for being overgenerous, underfunded, loosely managed budget-busters, Washington state's massive system looks pretty good by comparison.
But that may not be good enough.
An analysis by The Seattle Times suggests that the system's promised benefits are much bigger, and its real assets smaller, than official numbers indicate.
The analysis, using market-based data and methods, pegs the total gap between the present-day value of future benefits and assets on hand at more than $31 billion.
By that measure - one advocated by many outside experts and economists - the system's nine major defined-benefit plans together have only about 64 cents in assets for every dollar of liabilities, rather than being 100 percent funded as the official figures indicate.
A thorough analysis -- does not look good for future retirees...