Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Friday that the state's pension system is not "sustainable'' under the current system.
The pension system has been underfunded for years, and the fund paid out $1.2 billion per year for 43,000 beneficiaries in 2010.
Pensions are currently a topic of discussion in the ongoing, closed-door talks as Malloy is trying to obtain $2 billion in concessions and savings from the unions over the next two years. Public records, compiled into a database by the Hartford-based Yankee Institute, show that 378 retired state workers received pensions last year of more than $100,000.
"If I had known about that earlier in life, I would have begun my state career years ago,'' Malloy initially said when asked about the high-end pensions.
Concerning the six-figure pensions, Malloy said, "I don't know the specifics of each of those cases. So, to make a blanket judgment might be unfair. Having said that, what we're not on is a sustainable course, and we have to get on a sustainable course. There are different ways to do it, whether it's a different type of system or properly funding, both by the state and with the appropriate level of employee contributions, the system. It's got to be one or the other.''