Board to vote on change to Oregon’s public pension system

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The board overseeing Oregon’s public pension system is set to vote on whether to downgrade assumptions about how much return the system will get on its investments.
 
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (http://bit.ly/2w1dMHb) changing the assumptions about returns on the investments that fund payments to public employees in retirement, up for a vote Friday, could increase the pension’s unfunded liability from $22 billion to $50 billion, meaning that state agencies and school districts would have to put more money into the system in the coming years.
 
The Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) board currently assumes its investments will earn 7.5 percent annually. Market experts say that is a gross overestimate that does not reflect the real size of today’s underfunded public pension system and it minimizes required contributions from government employers.