By Associated Press
Oklahoma City, OK – Meacham offers plan to deal with pension liability
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Outgoing state Treasurer Scott Meacham is outlining a plan he says will help Oklahoma deal with its $16.5 billion unfunded liability for the state's public pension system.
Meacham detailed his six-point plan Wednesday during a meeting of the state Pension Commission, of which he is the chairman. He told the commission that the state's unfunded liability is more than twice the size of the current fiscal-year budget for the entire state.
He says a "lack of discipline" has led to the current situation.
He says the biggest positive change that could be made would be to mandate that cost of living adjustments not be granted by the Legislature or the board of any retirement system unless accompanied by sufficient funding to pay for the increase on a current and future basis.