Bloomfield Township Pension Bonds, By The Numbers

Bloomfield Township is moving forward with a plan to sell bonds that will eliminate roughly $80 million in pension costs for former and many current employees. Here's a breakdown of some of the more important numbers involved:

The People

• $34,000: The average annual pension size for township employees.
  
• 470: The number of employees in the plan, established in 1961.
• 213: The number of active employees in the plan at the start of 2013. 
• 30-35: The number of employees equivalent to the amount of money the township would have to pay to meet steep increases in pension liability without taking action.

The Percentages

• 82 percent: The amount of the pension plan funded in 2009.
• 82 percent: The amount of the plan considered earned by employees.
• 61 percent: The amount of the pension plan funded currently after the drop in the market.
• 6.25 percent: The anticipated annual rate of return on the bonds needed to make the plan solvent and fully funded.
• 1.75 percent: The drop in assumed returns on the pension plan in recent years.

The Price

• $125 million: The amount needed to pay Prudential today in order to end the current plan.
• $10.7 million: The amount the township would have to pay next year from the general fund to cover pensions.
• $9 million: The anticipated amount the township would have to pay annually from the general fund to cover pensions without the bond plan.
• $5.2 million: The amount the township paid from the general fund to cover pension costs this year.