Today, The Hill featured an op-ed written by Equable Institute‘s Executive Director Anthony Randazzo on the inevitable impact of the COVID-19 financial crash and how it will affect public pensions.

“Unlike the demographics most vulnerable to succumbing to the physical effects of the virus, those with the biggest cause for concern about state and local pensions aren’t America’s senior citizens and retirees. It’s today’s active public workers who should be worried,” Randazzo writes. “Not only are many of them on the front lines of this invisible war against coronavirus – from police officers and firefighters to the public health officers and municipal employees who are keeping the government running – but they’re doubly exposed to the disasters on the financial side of this crisis.”

The piece warns that public pension funds can’t wait for the market to return to “normal” to address the losses caused by the recent market downturn. This is the new normal.

“At a time when public sector workers are on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that they do not face an added stress about the security of their retirement benefits. States should signal now that they are willing to take steps to more responsibly manage the financial risks of their pension funds, even if that means more budgetary cost in the near-term.”

Read the full article on COVID-19 and its impact on pensions at TheHill.com.