Governor Hogan Addresses Underfunded Pension Liability To Ensure Fiscal Responsibility

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan has today introduced a third supplemental budget for FY2016 that fully restores $75 million for the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System following actions by the General Assembly.

The foundation of the budget introduced by the Hogan administration in January was structural balance and fiscal responsibility, without the burden of increased taxes or growth in state debt. In the absence of a responsible, long-term approach to the state’s pension obligations, it is the duty of the Hogan administration to deliver this necessary funding.

“Raiding the pension fund represents the kind of short-term thinking that has put Maryland in the precarious financial position we faced in January, and I simply cannot allow these actions to continue. Protecting the integrity of our pension system is a common-sense measure that allows the state to keep its promises,” said Governor Hogan. “Progress is being made toward a bipartisan compromise. We aren’t going to get everything we wanted, the legislature isn’t going to get everything it wanted, but the taxpayers will get the most fiscally responsible budget in a decade and record funding in K-12 education.”

Since 2011, the General Assembly has consistently cut funding for the state pension system, including a proposed 50 percent cut in the current legislative session. The governor’s budget would provide supplemental funding to the state pension at a level of $150 million, reflecting the administration’s budget as originally proposed.