Issue brief looks at pension funding picture through 2016.

• Position: News & Numbers - Brief article

A new issue brief from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, The Funding of State and Local Pensions: 2012-2016, looks at the road ahead as public pension plans calculate their assets and liabilities in 2014 according to new accounting standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. The briefs key findings:

* During 2012, using current Governmental Accounting Standards Board criteria, the funded status of public plans declined slightly, from 75 percent to 73 percent.

* The funded ratio is projected to gradually move to more than 80 percent...