April 26, 2024
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Are Too Generous Pension Plans a 'Prescription for Disaster?'
Will pension and disability benefits turn Florida cities into the municipal equivalents of General Motors?
Mike Vogel | 3/1/2009
Before the Storm Pensions in Florida’s 10 largest cities were generally adequately funded based on their last valuation. But that was before the 2008 market disaster. Funded ratio is a measure of a pension fund’s fiscal health. It compares assets to pension obligations. A percentage over 100% means the fund has more money than it needs to meet its obligations. |
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| City | Total Assets | Funded Ratio |
| Jacksonville | ||
| Police and fire | $761.8 million | 49% |
| Miami | ||
| Police and fire | $1.2 billion | 107% |
| General employees and sanitation | $664 million | 86% |
| Tampa | ||
| General employees | $503 million | 98% |
| Police and fire | $1.4 billion | 109% |
| St. Petersburg | ||
| General employees | $234.4 million | 98% |
| Police | $261.9 million | 87% |
| Fire | $155 million | 78% |
| Hialeah | ||
| All employees | $522.8 million | 99% |
| Orlando | ||
| General employees* | $153 million | 82% |
| Police | $323 million | 92% |
| Fire | $209 million | 92% |
| *closed plan, city switched to defined contribution for new hires | ||
| Tallahassee | ||
| General employees | N/A* | 111% |
| Police | N/A* | 104% |
| Fire | N/A* | 101% |
| *Assets for all three funds total $1 billion | ||
| Fort Lauderdale | ||
| General | $239.7 million | 76% |
| Police and fire | $420.6 million | 82% |
| Cape Coral | ||
| Police | $67.9 million | 80% |
| Fire | $77 million | 77% |
| Port St. Lucie | ||
| Police | $27.9 million | 70% |
| *No general employees defined benefit pension; city does not have a fire department. | ||
| Most funded ratios are from Sept. 30 or Oct. 1, 2007, their most current valuations. Asset figures generally are from Sept. 30, 2008. | ||
| Source: Respective municipalities | ||
