Politics & Government

Pension Report Cards: Did Your Town Make The Grade?

The state on Friday released a report about the status of locally administered pension plans. Is yours in "critical condition?"

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COVENTRY, RI — Rhode Island cities and towns need to do more work on their pensions, according to a new report from Seth Magaziner, state treasurer. His office today released a report analyzing the 34 locally-administered pension plans in Rhode Island. For the first time, the state is giving the communities individual report cards.

More than a third of the plans are classified "in critical condition," meaning less than 60 percent of the pension liability has been funded.

The report also shows the assumptions about investment returns. Plans are considered "unrealistic" if their projections assume returns higher than 7 percent. Such profits may not materialize. Assumptions about payroll growth are also included, if the communities could provide the information. Some could not.

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"The condition of municipal pension plans is of great importance to the public employees who rely on pensions for retirement security, and to the taxpayers who fund pension systems," Magaziner said. According to the report, Rhode Island's locally administered plans "carry a combined unfunded liability of over $2.4 billion, and over a third of plans are in critical-funded status.

Two types of pensions were assessed. Open plans are continuing to accept members. Closed plans do not. Some communities have both. Coventry rated in critical condition on all its plans. But Newport, Narragansett and Warwick, for example, were both critical and non-critical.

Here is an excerpt from the report.

Bristol: Critical (Closed Plan, Police)
Central Falls: Critical

Coventry: Critical (Police; School Plan; and Municipal Employees)

Cranston: Critical (Closed Plan, Police & Fire)

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Cumberland: Critical (Police)

East Providence: Critical (Police & Fire)

Jamestown: Critical (Police)

Johnston: Critical (Two Closed Plans, Police & Fire)

Lincoln: Non-Critical

Little Compton: Non-Critical

Middletown: Non-Critical (Closed Plan)

Narragansett: Non-Critical (Open Plan)

Narragansett: Critical (Closed Plan, Police)

Newport: Critical (Fire)

Newport: Non-Critical (Closed Plan, Police)

North Providence: Non-Critical (Police)

Pawtucket: Critical (Police & Fire)

Portsmouth: Critical (Closed Plan)

Providence: Critical

Scituate: Critical (Closed Plan)

Smithfield: Critical (Closed Plan, Police)

Smithfield: Non-Critical (Closed Plan, Fire)

Tiverton: Non-Critical (Police)

Warwick: Non-Critical

Warwick: Critical (Closed Plan, Police & Fire I)

Westerly: Non-Critical (Police)

West Warwick: Critical

Woonsocket: (Closed Plan, Police & Fire)

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