State delivers nearly $404K in pension allocations to Pike County

On September 26, state Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor announced the distribution of nearly $405 million in state aid to municipal pension plans across Pennsylvania for this year. As part of that annual distribution, which DeFoor’s department allocates by Oct. 1 of each year, Pike County was allocated a total of $403,999.33 for its various municipal pension plans.

The Auditor General Department distributes funds to municipalities to help defray the cost of their various police, fire, and “non-uniformed” pension plans maintained by municipalities, regional police forces and councils of government, the state explained.

“This vital state aid helps reduce the burden on municipalities to make their legally mandated pension contributions so there is money available when their police, fire, and non-uniformed employees retire,” Auditor General DeFoor said.

According to DeFoor’s announcement, the funding is generated by a 2% tax on fire and casualty insurance policies sold in Pennsylvania by out-of-state companies. The amount of revenue available for distribution varies from year to year.

Locally, Milford Borough received $56,623.99 for its pension plan. Milford Township received $6,291.55, Lehman Township received $111,184.21, Eastern Pike Regional received $77,919.81, Lackawaxen received $44,040.88, Shohola was allocated $25,166.22, Delaware Township received $31,441.52, and Dingman got $27,116.42. The state also allocated $11,843.65 to Blooming Grove Township, $9,390.46 to Palmyra, and $2,980.62 to Westfall.

DeFoor also noted that municipal pensions not meeting their financial obligations has increased since federal COVID-19 funding has expired. “Since I took office, we have continued to see an increase of municipal pension plans in some stage of distress,” DeFoor said. “It is our obligation to make sure that the people who make our communities safe and function will have a pension when they retire. We urge all municipalities to ensure they are contributing to their pension plans as part of their regular budgeting process.”

Municipal pension plans are audited by the state to ensure that funds are being used appropriately and that the information each municipality submits is correct. In some instances, state aid may be withheld from municipalities found to be not in compliance.

Additional pension aid allocations and audits can be found at PaAuditor.gov.