In many states, the pension time-bomb is ticking

By Jesse Hathaway

Published June 13, 2017 4:01am ET

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In many states, the pension time-bomb is ticking — The Pennsylvania Capitol building in Harrisburg. In Pennsylvania, the State Employees Retirement System assumes it will receive a 7.5 percent annual return on every investment it makes. In reality, PSERS only earned 0.4 percent on its investment of government employees' money, barely breaking even. Expected benefits won't be there when workers retire. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) | Matt Rourke

Tick, tick, tick …

That’s the sound of a bomb getting ready to go off, one with the power to destroy taxpayers’ lives and state budgets. This explosive is a “future bomb,” set to blow up at a later, unknown date. But it’s just as dangerous and deserving of our attention as any immediate threat.

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