Business Report: Pension liabilities by state

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, only two states have surpluses in their pension funds, South Dakota and Wisconsin. New York is close, in the red by only $74 per person. But about half the states own hundreds or thousands per person.

Five states own $7,000 per person, including Illinois - $9,000 – and New Jersey, almost $11,000. Hawaii is seventh worst with more than $7,000 in pension liability per person. Pew says 62% of Hawaii pension liabilities are funded. Now, that's another way of measuring it, and Hawaii looks better by that measure.

Three states with smaller per capita liability have higher percentage exposure, including Rhode Island, South Carolina, Indiana, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Mississippi. Hawaii's 62% funding level is  a lot better than Illinois, 40%, or New Jersey, 38%, or Kentucky, 37%.

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