Connecticut’s debt-to-personal income ratio, as well retiree healthcare liabilities, are among the highest in the nation. Its unfunded pension costs also run high on a per-capita basis.
The Pew Charitable Trusts released a report showing Connecticut’s ratio of public debt to private income is 8.8 percent. That ties it for second with Massachusetts and behind only Hawaii, where the ratio is 10.6 percent.
Connecticut’s unfunded pension costs, which reached $25.3 billion in 2013, were 11.3 percent of personal income, according to the report. The unfunded retiree healthcare costs stood at $22.6 billion, which represents 10.1 percent of personal income.
In 2013, states reported that they owed $968 billion in unfunded pension benefits—the equivalent of 6.9 percent of 50-state personal income, which is a measure of their economic resources. States also reported $587 billion in unfunded retiree healthcare liabilities (4.2 percent of personal income) and $518 billion in outstanding debt (3.7 percent).
States’ unfunded pension costs—the shortfall between benefits promised to government workers and the savings available to meet those obligations—stand out, according to Pew. Collectively, they not only were the largest in dollar terms of the three long-term liabilities but also grew the most over the past decade. In addition, they were larger than either of the other liabilities in 37 states.
