Two of the state's pension funds have a large unfunded liability because previous administrations neglected them, Rhode Island Treasurer Nancy Mayer said last week.
The two funds, one for the state police and one for the state's judges, manage about $1.2 million in retirement funds, but have an unfunded liablity of about $500,000 according to John McIntire, a spokesman for the treasurer.
According to a report in the Providence Sunday Journal, the two funds were invested only in a payroll account that paid short-term interest rates. Mayer's office said these funds should have been invested in long-term stocks and bonds for the higher returns.
The funds were subject to "six and a half years of neglect from previous treasurers," Mayer said.
During Mayer's tenure, the two funds have been pooled with the state's other general pension funds for better investment purposes, McIntire said.
This is only the most recent charge that state government in Rhode Island was poorly run in the past. Earlier this year, former Gov. Edward DiPrete and his son were both indicted oncharges of extortion, bribery, and racketeering. The two have said they are not guilty and await trial.
