County claims Mercer advised on backdrop pension payments

Steve Schultze reported in the July 28, 2008 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the litigation between Milwaukee County and Mercer, Inc. over the pension backdrop feature of the Milwaukee County pension plan.

Kalwarski [Gene Kalwarski, a Washington, D.C.-based actuary and an expert witness for the county] also faulted Soderstrom [Glenn Soderstrom, a Mercer actuary] for his optimistic advice on the likely long-term performance of the county pension fund, calling that “extreme actuarial negligence.” Soderstrom said the county probably would not have to worry about making large annual pension contributions, but payments since 2003 have averaged more than $36 million a year.

Yesterday's business section had this guest editorial comment.