The Show-Me Institute has published a timely study by Richard Dreyfuss (no, not from JAWS) discussing the pitfalls of Missouri’s current public pension plan, and suggestions about how to move forward with more security and stability, especially in terms of medical benefits.

This study comes comes on the heels of allegations of lavish spending by pension fund officials, the counter-argument that pension funds are well-managed, and a decision by the Social Security Administration that could be even more detrimental to teachers’ retirement funds.

According to the Saint Louis Business Journal coverage of Dreyfuss’ study, “Most of Missouri’s largest pensions lost tens of millions to billions of dollars in the 2008 fiscal year;” a deeply troubling fact. Public employees (such as teachers) are currently paying into a system that could be defunct by the time they retire. The aggregated benefits of Pensions are clear, but just as clear is the fact that the current trend is not sustainable and that reforms are needed.

Dreyfuss’ study focuses on reform through a more defined benefit plan for more stable, predicable benchmarks and projections.