A looming accounting change is forcing state and local governments to fess up to something that’s been lurking on their books for years: Many have made costly retirement health-care promises without planning how to pay for them.
Under a new accounting rule, governments soon must start recognizing their long-term obligations to pay for retirees’ health benefits — and, for the first time, publicly disclose what it would cost each year to fund that liability.
For many governments, the promised amount is likely to be sizeable enough to prompt big changes such as cutting retiree benefits, borrowing money and diverting tax dollars from other spending priorities — or risk a credit-rating downgrade that could significantly boost borrowing costs. Estimates of obligations for some states range from $500 million to as much as $40 billion.