Lottery Shortfalls Spell Bad Luck for State Public-Worker Pensions

There’s a new cause for concern about New Jersey’s chronically underfunded public-worker pension funds — sagging state Lottery revenues.

That’s something of a double whammy for one of the nation’s worst-funded state retirement systems, which has seen investment returns plummet precipitously during the coronavirus pandemic.

So far this fiscal year, Lottery revenues, which serve as a dedicated source of funding for the pension system, are down more than 12% compared with the same period last year, according to the latest data released by the Department of Treasury.

During the month of March, the year-over-year revenue drop-off was even more dramatic, reaching nearly 30%.

Read more: https://www.njspotlight.com/2020/04/lottery-shortfalls-spell-bad-luck-for-state-public-worker-pensions/