Reason Foundation  Reason Foundation  Tennessee Pension Losses
Mean More Taxpayer Contributions to System  Adam Summers April
4, 2009, 12:47am  State and local government pension plans
across the country are struggling, particularly since the dive
in the stock market that accompanied the economic downturn, and
Tennessee is no exception.  The state's pension funds lost $10
billion last year.  This means that the state (and, ultimately,
taxpayers) will have to contribute more money to the pension
system to make up for pension fund losses.  Governor Phil
Bredesen is proposing that the state contribute an additional
$150 million to the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System
next year.  County governments and school boards that
participate in the state's retirement plan will similarly have
to kick in more money.  The strength of public-sector labor
unions and laws that prevent reductions to government employee
pension benefits put public-sector workers in a unique
position.  While workers in the private sector a