Birmingham
Unfunded pensions looming threat for Birmingham
With pensions underfunded since 2002, “critical” decisions lie ahead.
Birmingham City Hall photo by Cody Owens/Weld: Birmingham’s Newspaper.
Birmingham’s unfunded pension liability could spell big problems for the city, according to a new report from BirminghamWatch.
The city has been underfunding its employee pension plan for more than 15 years, which has been described as a “hole in our balance sheet” by Daniel Coleman, a co-chair of Mayor Randall Woodfin’s Transparent and Efficient Government Committee.
The city will need to allocate an additional $10 million to $15 million per year to fully fund the pension plan. Without being addressed directly, Coleman says, the problem could reach a “critical point.” That would likely mean credit downgrades for the city and an inability to pay for retiree benefits.
