By Kris Hundley
March 24, 2010
On March 1, the state agency that invests public pension money issued a news release bragging about a 16.3 percent rebound in its portfolio in the second half of 2009.
Two days later, the State Board of Administration sat down with its advisory council and revealed the rest of the story:
Even with those gains, Florida’s public pension fund slipped into the red in 2009 for the first time in a dozen years. And the fund’s shortfall is projected to be even bigger this year. That news has not been as widely publicized.
While past surpluses in the pension fund kept a lid on local contributions during boom times, now the bill is coming due. And plugging the multibillion-dollar deficit will require about a 40 percent hike in contributions from local governments stretched by declining revenues.
Read more at tampabay.com.