S.C. treasurer, armed with attorney general opinion, blasts pension fund management
COLUMBIA — South Carolina's struggling pension funds, which serve roughly one of every nine state residents, are in even worse shape than they appear, according to the state treasurer.
Treasurer Curtis Loftis points to a recent opinion from the Attorney General's Office, which he requested, that says a court would likely find the methods used to calculate the pension plan unconstitutional. Loftis said those methods mask the impact of years of underfunding.
If the pension fund liabilities were calculated the way Loftis and the Attorney General's Office say is the correct way, the known $24 billion shortfall in long-term pension funding would be revealed to be larger, requiring more money from governments and government employees.
"It’s probably the most jarring AG opinion I’ve read, as a constitutional officer of the state," Loftis said.
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