Public Employees Pension Fund Crisis | Insights on PBS Hawai'i

The Hawaii Employees Retirement System (ERS) administers pensions and other benefits for substantially all public employees in the state. Its 113,000 membership includes 40,000 retirees and beneficiaries. Throughout the years lawmakers have skimmed the ERS's investment returns to fund state programs resulting in an unfunded liability that has now ballooned to over $8.4 billion dollars.
Host Dan Boylan moderates this discussion about the reforms and approaches to address the funding crisis, the liability impact on the state's credit rating, and whether our tax burden will be increased to meet this obligation.
Scheduled guests include: Randall Iwase, Chair, Hawaii Tax Review Commission; Lowell Kalapa, President, Tax Foundation of Hawaii; Colbert Matsumoto, Trustee, Employees Retirement System (ERS); and Randy Perreira, Executive Director, Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA).
Original Air Date: April 25, 2013.