SEC settlement over NJ pensions okay with Christie

Governor Chris Christie says he’s happy New Jersey has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the fraudulent marketing of municipal bonds.

The settlement requires New Jersey to do a better job of disclosing the funding of the state’s pension plans. The SEC alleged that investors were not informed of the under-funding of the pension system when billions of dollars of bond offerings were made between 2001 and 2007.

Governor Christie says it happened before he took office and is pleased the charges have been resolved. Going forward, Christie wants to make the minimum payment into the pension fund required by legislation recently approved by state lawmakers.

“If we have a revenue situation that continues to not improve then I’m going to have to sit down with the legislature and say, ‘ok where are we going to find the $512 million in savings in other programs that will permit us to make the $512 million payment into the pension system,'” he says.

Christie says the current pension system is not affordable and he will work with the legislature this fall to make pension and benefit reforms.