Kentucky's per capita unfunded public pension liability is one of the worst in the nation

pension reform

We've all heard about the sorry state of Kentucky's unfunded public pension liability, which currently stands at over a whopping $30 billion. But how does this figure compare to the rest of the states?

Not good at all.

In fact, according to recent research done by Morningstar, Inc., the only state whose public pension liabilities are less funded than Kentucky's is Illinois, notorious for being one of the most corrupt states in the nation. So...what does that make Kentucky, whose public pension liability is just a hair over half funded?

To put this in perspective, neighboring Tennessee has funded their public pension liability 92.1% of the way.

Looking at unfunded public pension liability per capita doesn't help Kentucky's dismal state of financial affairs. At $4,488 per denizen of the Bluegrass State, Kentucky ranks No. 7 out of all the state for the amount of public pension burden per capita. No state in the region comes close to that figure besides Illinois.

Given these statistics, it's no wonder Kentuckians are calling out for true public pension reform in the commonwealth.