Opinion

Pension fund shortfall

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli couldn’t wait to spread the good news: New York’s pension fund, he announced last week, is worth more than at any time since the economic meltdown.

According to DiNapoli, the estimated balance of the Common Retirement Fund, as it’s known, was $150.3 billion on March 31.

Moreover, it posted a 5.96% return on investment for the fiscal year ending March 31.

But not so fast.

As the Manhattan Institute’s Empire Center notes, the fund’s long-term strategy is predicated on a much higher annual rate of return — 7.5%.

And even that was lowered from 8% in September 2010 because the investments continually yielded far less.

Moreover, the fund’s total value — despite its superficially impressive high balance — remains $6.3 billion below its level of five years ago.

Since then, benefit payouts have risen nearly $3.3 billion, notes the center.

And this year’s total remains more than $2 billion below where it would have been had the fund reached its projected rate of return.

What does it all mean?

For all DiNapoli’s effort to spread good cheer, the pension-fund numbers — at this rate — remain unsustainable, given the level of benefit payouts.

How much longer before the unions and their allies start demanding a bailout?

Not very long, we’d guess.