Retirement Security Law Commons^™

The Public Pension Crisis , Jack M. Beermann

Washington and Lee Law Review

Unfunded employee pension obligations will present a serious fiscal problem to state and local governments in the not-toodistant future. This Article takes a look at the causes and potential cures for the public pension mess, mainly through the lens of legal doctrines that limit public employers’ ability to avoid obligations. As far as the causes are concerned, this Article examines the political environment within which public pension promises are made and funded, as an attempt to understand how this occurred. The Article then turns to ask if states could implement meaningful reforms without violating either state or federal law. In …