Costs for Funding State Retiree Health Benefits Grows
By
Amy Quinton
Thursday, February 21, 2013
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A new report shows the unfunded liability for state retiree health benefits in California has grown to more than 63-billion dollars. State Controller John Chiang says some increases in future liability could be prevented.
Chiang says the unfunded obligation for state retiree benefits
has grown almost two billion dollars from 2011 to 2012.
That's less than expected because of fewer and less expensive
healthcare claims.
But Chiang says the pay-as-you-go model for funding retiree
health benefits is short-sighted and could undermine the state's
fiscal health.
He says if the state shifts to fully pre-funding the costs,
the state's liability would be cut by more than 21 billion
dollars.
California would have to pay almost five billion dollars this
fiscal year to do that. The state only allotted about two
billion.
Chiang says 22-percent of California Public Employees'
Retirement System health expenses are related to conditions that
could be changed through diet and exercise.