WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The pension funds of U.S. state and local government employees dropped 22.7 percent from 2008 to 2009, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.
The dramatic drop of $726.1 billion came after a drop of $176.7 billion from 2008 to 2009, a survey of state and local government retirement systems found.
The Census Bureau said the pension funds covered in the report lost $633.4 billion on investments, nearly $600 billion more then the previous year.
Employee and government contributions to pension funds increased 7 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. In 2009, employees ponied up $39.5 billion. Governments added in $86.12 billion.
Contributions by local governments rose 10 percent, while state government contributions fell 2.6 percent in the year.
