Parry Young Quotations

It is not surprising that because of the combined effect of the double-whammy, falling assets/rising liabilities, average state pension funding levels, as of June 30, 2004, had fallen to approximately 84 percent of their previous apex four years earlier.

The problem now is that contribution rates are going up and that's what's putting these (government) budgets in a bind around the country. Most of these governments are very labor intensive and that's a big hit.

If pension investment return assumptions are met over the near-term, funded ratios may begin to stabilize or improve in fiscal 2006 and beyond. The risks to such a scenario, in addition to the potential for investment return shortfalls, include a number of factors that affect funding, such as changes in actuarial assumptions, benefit levels and demographics.