Pension benefits for U.S. public workers were reduced by a record 43 states over three years to cut costs following the longest recession since the 1930s, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Two recessions since 1999 have made it difficult for states to keep up with funding 126 pensions, reducing estimated assets held by the plans to 77 percent of projected liabilities in 2010 from 103 percent, the report said, citing data from the Boston College Center for Retirement Research in Newton, Massachusetts.
