(The Center Square)—Allegheny County officials say they may ask taxpayers to help fill a $1.4 billion hole in its pension plan, but the plan’s own investment strategy has helped deepen its “looming insolvency,” according to an investigation by The Center Square.
Officials emphasizethat the southwestern Pennsylvania county of 1.2 million and its Airport Authority, which manages Pittsburgh International Airport, have not contributed enough to the pension plan. In a report released last month, they devoted nine pages to what they said was the chief cause of the crisis: from 2009 to 2024, inadequate employer contributions were responsible for $295.9 million of the $1.4 billion deficit.
Yet, tucked further back in the report is a three-page acknowledgment that “investment management practices and legacy investment decisions” were also responsible. The report attributes $273.9 million of the $1.4 billion hole to “experience,” an actuarial catch-all term that includes investment performance. ‘Stuck’ in Allegheny County…