High Returns Won’t Fix the Pension Crisis

The stock market in the United States is currently reaching record high return levels. However, Moody’s cautions that these large returns are still not enough to remedy the pension crisis in this country. Moody’s Investor Services Report recently concluded that even in the best-case scenario of a 25% investment return between 2017-2019, pension plans will still struggle. In the public pension sphere, if there is the absolute best-case scenario of a 25% return from 2017-2019, the net liability of public pension plans will only decrease by 1%. In another best-case scenario where public pension plans see a 19% return during 2017-2019, the net public pension liabilities actually rise by 15%. While this is dependent on each particular fund's underfunded status, investment strategy, and returns, most pension plans should not rely on a strong stock market as a safety net.