Room for Debate: Debunking 12 Pension Half-Truths

The saying there are two sides to every story seems particularly true for a heated topic like pension form. It isn’t always easy to cut through the rhetoric lobbed from opposing sides when half-truths frame the debate. So Governing Magazine has decided to debunk the fallacies, misrepresentations, and myths that float out there. In total, the truth -- or lack thereof -- of 12 common statements are examined to set the record straight:

"1. "The pension mess was caused by greedy people (from the other side), not us."

2. "There's no crisis. The stock market will recover and then there is no problem."

3. "The solution is to replace pensions with 401(k) plans, like the private sector."

4. "Experts consider 80 percent to be a healthy pension funding ratio."

5. "Only 15 percent of pension costs is paid by employers. Investment income pays the lion's share."

6. "My pension contract is protected by the Constitution and can't be violated."

7. "States are already fixing the problem with reasonable pension reforms."

8. "The solution is collective bargaining. There is no need for drastic legislation."

9. "This is a $3 trillion problem when you measure it using honest (risk-free) math."

10. "We earned more than 8 percent in the last 25 years, and will do so again."

11. "The average public pension is $23,000."

12. The $100,000 pension club."

You can read Governing Magazine’s full article on each of the 12 statements here. You be the judge if they get it right.

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Cities, counties, and school districts are getting badly burned by the current pension climate in California. Pension reform is urgently needed.

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