Kern County officials told me today they won't know the cost of the county's unfunded retirement liability until February. It's sensative number. In 2005, the estimate was that the county owed $48 to $78 million. Chances are its gone up.

This is a nation-wide, $1 trillion problem.

Governments now have to calculate the costs of providing their employees health care during their retirement years — AND they have to put that number into their annual budgets. There could be some serious economic consequeses to that, even though
the new accounting rules don't require government to save money to pay that negative "unfunded liability."

County employees pay into their retirement health care while they work. They don't have all their costs paid. And they can only collect on the benefit until age 65. But chances are they aren't paying enough for the retirement health care they do get.

What do all you blog-watchers think about this new reporting rule? Can actuarials really give us a solid picture of what we owe as a county? How should the county handle this cost?