Questions, comments, rants, etc:  cbriem@gmail.com

Facts and Figures

All data reflects combined information for the 3 major pension plans of the City of Pittsburgh: Police, Fire and General Municial pension plans.

Total Pension Liability

1995
$622,955,188
1997
$667,753,390
1999
$685,248,322
2001
$712,978,251
2003
$765,763,493
2005
$843,382,550
2007
$899,248,578
2009
?

As of January 1st of each year

Total Pension Assets

1995
$107,617,040
1997
$156,974,756
1999
$436,613,690
2001
$423,058,432
2003
$312,470,965
2005
$373,608,407
2007
$375,368,724
2009 -

Above data as of January 1st of each year. As of July 31, 2009 total fund assets = $265mil

Unfunded Liability

1995
$515,338,148
1997
$510,778,634
1999
$248,634,632
2001
$289,919,819
2003
$453,292,528
2005
$469,774,143
2007
$523,879,854
2009
?

Source: Act 205 reports, various years

As of January 1st of each year

Total Monthly Pension Expenditures

1997
$56,063,554
1999
$55,427,384
2001
$53,252,121
2003
$54,368,709
2005
$62,241,932
2007
$76,863,862

Source: Act 205 reports, various years

Funding Ratio by Year

1995
17.28%
1997
23.51%
1999
63.72%
2001
59.34%
2003
40.81%
2005
44.30%
2007
41.70%
2009
?

As of January 1st of each year

Funding Ratio by Plan


As of January 1st of each year

Annual Administrative Expenses

1997
$1,657,994
1999
$2,081,771
2001
$2,416,402
2003
$1,988,514
2005
$2,350,477
2007
$2,945,610

City's Minimum Municipal Obligation

2003
18,861,329
2005
32,092,082
2007
37,979,302

State Pension Aide to Pittsburgh

Coming Soon

Active City Workers


Fire
Municipal
Police
1995
866
2,564
1,245
1997
886
2,316
1,153
1999
844
2,293
1,098
2001
889
2,287
1,098
2003
867
2,352
1,070
2005
737
1,819
804
2007
622
1,778
848

Per Act 205 reports
Recent Fund Balances by Plan
Assets as of July 31, 2009

Police $80,860,405
Fire $100,663,155
General $83,067,076
Notional Funding Ratio by Plan
Assets as of July 31, 2009 divided by January 1, 2007 liability

Police 22.9%
Fire 32.6%
General 35.0%

Act 205 Reports

1997 Police
Fire
General Munic
ipal
1999 Police
Fire
General Municipal
2001 Police
Fire
General Municipal
2003 Police
Fire
General Municipal
2005 Police
Fire
General Municipal
2007 Police
Fire
General Municipal

Links

Official City of Pittsburgh Pension Office Page

Pennsylvania Public Employee Retirement Commission

Pennsylvania Act 205 Information

Pennsylvania Auditor General Pension Auditing

GASB Postemployment Benefit Accounting and Financial Reporting Project Page

GASB 43/45 Resource Center

PensionTsunami Pennsylvania News

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Other Articles and Documents

Risky Business? Evaluating the Use of Pension Obligation Bonds. Government Finance Review, June 2003. Jim Burnham.
City of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Municipal Pension Trust Funds, Annual Report, December 31, 2000.
Municipal bond sales via the Internet: the story of Pittsburgh's electronic auction. Government Finance Review, August 1, 1998.
What to do about municipal pensions.  April 2009. University of Pittsburgh, Institute of Politics, Pensions Subcommittee
City of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Municipal Pension Trust Fund.  Auditor General
Pennsylvania Department of Communtiy and Economic Development.  Municipal Pension Handbook.
Official Statement City of Pittsburgh 1998ABC General Obligation Bond (Pension Bond)
City of Pittsburgh Proposed Pension Restructuring, August 2, 1996.

Selected News Coverage

Pittsburgh's Wasting Disease, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 1, 1978
Ailing Municipal Pension Funds Studied, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 27, 1979
Public Pension Woes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 4, 1980
Council Approves Reform of City Pension System, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 2, 1982.
Council Adpots Pension formula, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1987
City's Pension reserves depleted,  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 17, 1993
Murphy Urges Pension Fund Solution. April 19, 1997.
Council, Mayor, review City's Pension Fund.  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 28, 1998.
Pension Plan Rescue gets extension, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 17, 1998.
States and cities risk bigger losses to fund pensions By Mary Williams Walsh , New York Times, October 12, 2003
Cities Start Adding Up Retiree Cost. Pittsburgh Business Times, February 17, 2006
Mapping Out a Crisis: Where do city pension dollars wind up. Pittsburgh City Paper, October 30, 2008
Finance director: Pittsburgh's pension liabilities could top $1 billion . Pittsburgh Tribune Review, August 28, 2009