Excerpt: [S]everal times since 1998 the benefit formulas were made more generous.... [B]ecause of a strong stock market and faulty projections, few if any realized that the combined effects of these changes created an actuarial time bomb. Prior pension analyses failed to account for the cumulative effect of higher police pay, benefits based on a final paycheck, a lack of contributions to the fund by those with deferred retirement accounts, a higher average age of police ...  MORE >>