BY TOM GANTERT
The city of Jackson has not put enough money aside to fully fund its pension systems, a problem that is costing it millions of dollars a year.
Since 2014, the city’s contributions to its three pension systems has increased by $2.6 million, jumping from $4.6 million to $7.2 million over that six-year period, according to the city's 2020 annual audited report.
But despite the increased payments, the total unfunded liability has still increased from $54.1 million to $58.5 million over those six years.
To put that $58.5 million of pension debt in perspective, the city’s total revenue from all sources was $46.5 million in 2020.
There are 385 retirees receiving benefits from the three city pension plans. There is a pension plan that covers employees that are not police and fire employees as well as two pension plans for members of the police and fire departments.
The city of Jackson is not alone with having underfunded its pension system.
The Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS) administers retirement systems for 727 municipalities in this state. As of 2019, MERS reported that 90% of its municipalities had not fully-funded their pension plans.
