Connecticut’s pension debt is among the highest in the nation. State Treasurer Erick Russell (D) said the state aims to close the gap by 2048.
On Thursday, he spoke with the state’s Government Finance Officers Association and Public Pension Forum at their Fall Conference.
Russell said they’re continuing to invest heavily in pensions.
“As we continue to make this progress, I think this is something the legislature will evaluate on an ongoing basis around how much of a priority solely our pension fund needs to be,” Russell said. “Do we need to split what those additional contributions are going toward? At some point, but 2048 is where we are. Obviously, as we make those additional contributions with strong performance, our goal is to reduce the amount of time it takes for us to get there.”
Russell said the state is in a better financial position now than it was five years ago. He credited strong investments and fiscal guardrails implemented by Gov. Ned Lamont (D).
By the end of 2024, the state will have paid an additional $8.5 billion into the unfunded pension liability. Russel said that will help save hundreds of millions of dollars for Connecticut taxpayers annually.
Russel, who has been in office since January 2023, said his job is different from other state agencies because his work is much longer-term and not about one budget cycle.
“What’s unique about that is, we’re able to really think about how we want to shape the long-term future of Connecticut,” Russell said. “Again, a lot of this works around pension fund investments or big infrastructure projects in our state. But it’s also about how we are building an economy in our state that is more inclusive and creating more opportunity, or we can implement fiscal policy that will benefit us all in the long term.”
He also spoke about initiatives like the Firefighters Cancer Relief Fund, which provides the state’s municipalities with money to compensate local firefighters diagnosed with cancer due to their jobs. The fund currently stands at over $7.5 million.
