Forensics and the Future of a Connecticut Pension Plan (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

This issue brief, based on a November 2015 comprehensive report from researchers at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, examines Connecticut's State Employees Retirement System (SERS) and the State's significant unfunded liabilities associated with the system. Along with providing a brief history of funding for SERS and offering alternatives meant to shore up the system's finances and improve the overall flexibility of Connecticut's budget, the issue brief examines three major factors that contributed to SERS' unfunded liability. These factors include: 1) legacy costs from benefits promised before the systems were pre-funded; 2) inadequate contributions once the State decided to pre-fund; and 3) low investment returns relative to the assumed return since 2000.