WASHINGTON, DC -Eileen Kirlin, Executive Vice President of the 2.1 million-member Service Employees International Union, issued the following statement in response to a new report released this week by the Pew Center on the States that uses data from two years ago to paint an inaccurate picture of the condition of public pension funds:

It's critical for policy makers to have accurate, up-to-date data on pension funds as they consider the impact that proposals for drastic pension reform will have on hardworking families.

"It's no secret that in recent years some public pension systems have faced challenges due to the failure of some elected leaders to adequately fund pension obligations over many years and the recent Wall Street-induced economic crisis. At the same time, the economic crisis and fragile recovery has meant that states are collecting less revenue to meet their many obligations.

"The nation is moving toward a troubling trajectory in which the solution for budgetary problems at the local, state and federal level is to take more and more away from working, middleclass families.

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