Detroit — Officials for the city's two pension funds say they have healthy funding levels, despite a report from city consultants that claim each is under-funded.
The Detroit fire and police and general retirement systems are disputing the report provided to the city from the Seattle-based actuary firm Milliman, which concluded that the police and fire pension funding level was 50 percent and the general pension was 32 percent for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2010.
Matt Gnatek, chairman of the Fire and Police Retirement System board, in a statement Thursday countered that the fund "is on solid ground."
Gnatek said the pension fund's own reports show it was funded at 102 percent that year and expects to be funded at 96.1 percent for the most recent fiscal year.
The funding ratio is significant because under a new law that goes into effect March 28, Detroit's incoming emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, could appoint new members to the city's two pension systems if they are funded at less than 80 percent.
The general retirement system also took issue with the Milliman report, saying its funding level is 83 percent.
"The Board of Trustees is concerned about the accuracy of the (Milliman) report, as it appears to be based upon preliminary reports and projections, not an actuarial report," pension fund chairman Tom Sheehan said in a statement
Milliman's report labeled its conclusions on the financial state of the systems as "very rough preliminary guesstimates."
A spokesman for Milliman could not be reached Thursday.
(313) 222-2069
Join the Conversation
The Detroit News aims to provide a forum that fosters smart, civil discussions on the news and events that we cover. The News will not condone personal attacks, off topic posts or brutish language on our site. If you find a comment that you believe violates these standards, please click the "X" in the upper right corner of the post to report it.