Coventry's Pension Report Card: Critical Condition: State Says

COVENTRY, RI — Coventry has three locally-run pension plans, and all three are in "critical condition," according to a new report from Seth Magaziner, state treasurer. His office today released a report analyzing the 34 locally-administered pension plans in Rhode Island. For the first time, the state is giving each municipality a report card.

Coventry, which just lost its finance director and is working to hire a new Town Administrator, did not fare well on the report card. According to Magaziner, the police pension plan, the municipal pension plan and the closed school pension plan all are rated "critical," meaning less than 60 percent of the Town's pension liability has been funded.

The numbers indicate the Town has banked only 16.1 percent of the police pension liability, and just 38 percent of the school pension liability. Both plans are open, meaning employees are still being admitted. The closed plan, for the Town employees on the municipal government side, is 38.8 percent funded.

The report also shows the assumptions about investment returns. Coventry's plans assume about 7 percent, but the Town was unable to supply other numbers, which would show the impact on property taxes (by estimating the percentage of the levy needed to finance the pensions).