General Electric recently announced that it is freezing its pension plan for about 20,000 of its employees, meaning they will not accrue any new benefits beyond what they have already earned. The company made this move because it is struggling with $27 billion in pension and post-employment benefits liabilities. The change is expected to reduce GE’s pension liabilities by $8 billion.

The GE announcement is a wake-up call for Maryland, a state that likewise is struggling to cover $20 billion in unfunded public pension liabilities.