Easton’s police pension fund is only 53.7% funded, according to a state audit.
The audit says the firefighter pension is at 67.6% funded and a third pension for officers and employees is funded at 60.8%.
Plans funded between 50% and 69% are moderately distressed, according to the audit released Tuesday, July 29.
“We are extremely concerned about the funded status of the plan,” the audit says.
Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said Thursday the pension funds have improved since the audit, which looked at the funds from Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.
The funds are cumulatively over 70% funded now, which puts the city in the “minimally distressed” range of pensions funded at 70% to 89% of expected revenue, Panto said.
Panto said the pension fund is getting a better return on its investments than it was three years ago.
“Ever since we switched to Morgan Stanley, we’re doing much better,” Panto said.
The city has struggled with its pension funds for years. In 2016, the state auditor warned the city it was veering toward “severe distress,” where pensions are funded below 50%.
The mayor has long called for state aid to help balance pension funds. Other cities are in similar trouble.
“Nearly a quarter of the pension plans in Pennsylvania are in some state of distress,” state Auditor General DeFoor said after his statewide audit.
Easton is switching new employees into a Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System fund. That fund is near 100%, according to the state audit. It’s a hybrid pension-401(k). Its benefits aren’t as lucrative as a standard pension, but it’s more realistic for the city, Panto said.
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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
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