"Unfortunately, the analysis presented in the Pew Charitable Trusts' new report 'A Widening Gap in Cities' presents a distorted and outdated picture of the health of municipal pension plans -- primarily because the data Pew worked with is four years old. Examining data from 2009 -- immediately following the unexpected market collapse of the Fall 2008 that precipitated the Great Recession - may provide a valuable history lesson, but it cannot yield a realistic representation of the status of municipal pension plans today."  MORE >>