Pension Funding: Why Your Town is Going Broke

Pension Funding: Why Your Town is Going Broke [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"Just 13 percent of the local governments whose retirement systems are administered by a statewide entity have set aside enough money to pay the pensions promised to their workers.
The Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS) administers pension systems for 728 local cities, villages, townships, agencies and more.
But only 97 of those systems have adequately funded their pension obligations, according to the operation’s most recent report that covers up to Dec. 31, 2014.
Local government employees covered by MERS are owed some $12 billion worth of retirement benefits — but their employers have not set aside enough to cover the full amount.
Taxpayers in those communities on the hook for $3.5 billion worth of unfunded liabilities.
..."Pensions are going to be a huge issue nationally," he said.
"Unfunded pension liabilities are estimated to be as high as $4 trillion. 
In 2015, the Treasury Department collected $1.5 trillion in income taxes. 
Thus, to close the pension funding gap, you would have to divert all income taxes toward pensions for nearly three years straight. 
I don't know how we'll solve this problem.""