18. LIMIT PENSION LIABILITY

South Carolina took a good first step in
addressing our unfunded state pension fund
liabilities four years ago. Our total unfunded
liability and unfunded liability per capita have
shifted from among the highest liability to the
middle of the pack among states.

But our ratio of assets to liabilities, an
important measure of a pension fund’s health,
is among the nation’s worst ….and it has
been trending down. We must move fully to a
defined contribution model to modernize and
sustain benefits for new state employees.