HARTFORD, CT – Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM) Secretary Jeffrey Beckham on Wednesday sent the attached expenditure and revenue estimates to State Comptroller Natalie Braswell regarding the state’s General Fund and Special Transportation Fund for Fiscal Year 2022. This is the final budget forecast for Fiscal Year 2022.
According to the latest monthly forecast from OPM, the agency now estimates, after accounting for changes passed during the 2022 legislative session, an additional $431 million in deposits to the Budget Reserve compared to the letter sent to Comptroller Braswell on June 20, 2022. As a result of this increase, OPM now projects a transfer of over $4.1 billion to reduce unfunded liabilities. This is in addition to nearly $1.7 billion in additional pension payments in FY2020 and FY2021. During the Lamont administration, the state will have made an estimated $5.8 billion in additional pension payments, resulting in savings of approximately $12 billion in pension costs over the next 25 years.
The Budget Reserve Fund, commonly referred to as the Rainy Day Fund, will end Fiscal Year 2022 with $3.3 billion available and is fully funded at its maximum allowable 15% of General Fund Revenues.
“Fiscal Year 2022 will be remembered as transformative for Connecticut’s state budget, improving our outlook for future generations. By reducing our fixed costs by hundreds of millions of dollars each year we are providing stability and predictability to our budgeting. The national bond rating agencies have all taken notice, last year we were upgraded by all four rating agencies, and this year, one agency has improved the state’s outlook. Businesses recognize that Connecticut is committed to driving down our unfunded liabilities and looking towards our state more and more as a place to expand and grow,” said Governor Ned Lamont.
“Thanks to Governor Lamont’s leadership, Connecticut is correcting the financial mistakes of the past while also preparing for the future. Over the past three years, the state has made an additional $5.8 billion in payments to its unfunded liabilities, which will result in approximately $12 billion in savings over the next 25 years. The state is in an excellent financial position and well-fortified against a recession if one should come to pass, our Budget Reserve Fund is at its statutory maximum of $3.3 billion dollars, which is more than double the amount it held at the onset of the Great Recession,” said Secretary Beckham.
This document will also be available on the OPM website at the following link: https://portal.ct.gov/OPM/Bud-Other-Projects/Comptroller-Letters/Monthly-Forecasts-Home
