THE PROBLEM WITH PENSION FUNDING IS THAT POLITICIANS LIKE TO STEAL IT: Why Public Pension Pre-Funding Matters (An Explainer).. “And this is the story that’s repeated over and over again. Pensions are made more generous — with high accrual rates, low retirement eligibility ages, generous cost of living provisions — as a means of providing more generous compensation to state and local employees, without actually needing to pay anything from the current year’s budget. Costs are deferred until well after current legislators have themselves retired.”