Gregg Haddad

Connecticut's general obligation bond outlook was just raised from stable to positive by the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P). This pivotal economic news is due to our historic payments toward our unfunded liabilities, a record rainy day fund and smart investments in the future of our state.

According to the latest budget estimatefrom Governor Lamont's administration, our state is poised to pay down an additional $3.6 billion toward the long-standing unfunded pension liabilities. This pension payment is in addition to the $2.9 billion scheduled payment. Utilizing our budget surplus to pay down pensions puts us on a solid fiscal footing for the future and helps to save taxpayers' money. While we still have  more work to do addressing our legacy pension debts, these supplemental payments are expected to drive down the minimum required contributions the state must make by as much as $400 million a year, freeing up those resources for other priorities.