CHICAGO — A new accounting rule is requiring Wyoming to come clean about $413.7 million of its pension debt, but the state is still hiding over half of its retiree health care debt. This information is released today in a report titled, The Financial State of Wyoming, by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a Chicago-based think tank that analyzes government financials.
“We’ve been fighting for this accounting rule for a while,” said Sheila Weinberg, Founder and CEO of TIA. “Wyoming’s State Auditor, Cynthia Cloud, has brought greater transparency to citizens through reporting the state’s pension debt on its balance sheet.”
However, TIA’s analysis found that while Wyoming state officials are reporting all pension debt this year, state officials are still excluding $173.8 million of its $268.2 million retiree health care debt. Despite this hidden debt, TIA researchers found that Wyoming is in good financial shape.
TIA researchers recalculated Wyoming’s overall financial position and discovered the state has a $5.5 billion surplus. When Wyoming’s surplus is divided amongst state taxpayers, each taxpayer's share of Wyoming's taxpayer surplus is $26,800.
Data is derived from the state of Wyoming’s June 30, 2015, audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and retirement plans' actuarial reports.
Founded in 2002, Truth in Accounting is dedicated to educating and empowering citizens with understandable, reliable, and transparent government financial information. Sheila Weinberg is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 30 years of experience in the field.
Contact: Katherine Oxenreiter
312.589.5104
koxenreiter@truthinaccounting.org
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