Cost of RI pensions could reach $836B

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Rhode Island treasurer's office says the cost of paying for public employee pensions could balloon to more than $836 million annually by 2017.

Mark Dingley, a top aide for Treasurer Frank Caprio, announced the news Wednesday to a pension study commission appointed by House Speaker William Murphy.

(Click here to see Target 12 Investigator Tim White's "Probing Pensions" series.)

Dingley says the state is paying for past mistakes, including decades of unfunded benefits increases, inconsistent investment returns, inaccurate actuarial assumptions and insufficient contributions.

The Providence Journal reports he made several suggestions to the panel, which includes lawmakers, union leaders, a CPA and others.

Among them were eliminating the financial incentives for public workers to go on extended disability and increasing oversight.