States Warned of $2 Trillion Pensions Shortfall

US public pensions face a shortfall of $2,500 billion that will force state and local governments to sell assets and make deep cuts to services, according to the former chairman of New Jersey’s pension fund. retired couple paperwork Ron Chapple | Taxi | Getty Images The severe US economic recession has cast a spotlight on years of fiscal mismanagement, including chronic underfunding of retirement promises.