N.J. teachers need to be told the truth: Their pensions are in jeopardy | Opinion

By Michael Lilley

A new report by the Brookings Institution made some news because of its rather optimistic take on the fate of America’s public pensions. Brookings is perhaps the premier left-of-center think tank in the nation and often takes pro-labor union stances. In the report, the authors argue that due to recent reforms that lowered benefits for new hires, plans in most states are sustainable with relatively moderate and affordable adjustments. While other studies see underfunded public pension plans as a $3.9 trillion national crisis, the Brookings report concludes that there is no “imminent crisis” for most public pension plans.

The very notable exception is New Jersey’s Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF), which is by far the single-worst public pension in the Brookings study. TPAF is New Jersey’s largest public pension fund and covers all active and retired teachers. New Jersey’s Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), the pension plan for state and municipal workers, is second-worst but not nearly in the dire predicament of TPAF.

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