Today, the Pelican Institute for Public Policy is offering up a five-point guide to understanding the Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL), from how it originated and what kind of impact it’s having to national trends and possible solutions.

“Pension reform often gets overlooked because voters do not understand how it relates to them,” said Pelican Institute president Kevin Kane. “But bold reform is needed and we hope this report helps people appreciate the scope and significance of this issue. We also hope Governor Bobby Jindal and the legislature elect to face up to this problem in the coming legislative session. Meaningful reform can save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while protecting vital services such as education and policing.”

The Big Debt describes a critical challenge facing the state of Louisiana: the Unfunded Accrued Liability associated with state pension plans. Award winning journalist Jeremy Alford takes this complicated topic and makes it comprehensible to the non-expert.

Find out how the UAL came to be, what impact it will have on you, and how policymakers can take steps to address this ticking time bomb before it explodes.

The remarkable facts detailed by Alford include:

-Louisiana’s Unfunded Accrued Liability will soon surpass $20 billion

-This year, approximately $1.4 billion of taxpayer dollars will go towards paying the UAL down, or over 5% of the state’s total annual budget of $25 billion

-Employer contribution rates continue to increase, putting more strain on taxpayers while leaving less money available to pay teachers, police officers and other essential service providers

Read more about The Big Debt here.