FLINT, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In 2024, the city of Flint paid $38 million for its annual pension contribution. However, the pension system paid out $50 million to its retirees that year.

That’s a problem for the city of Flint as the pension contribution is the biggest expenditure in the city budget, according to financial documents the city has posted.

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“The costs of pension and other post-employment benefits are one of the most critical budget challenges for the City,” the city’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget stated. “If nothing were done to address the increasing annual pension contribution, the City would face debilitating financial hardship.”

But something was done. The state of Michigan implemented a $750 million bailout for municipalities across the state with vastly underfunded pension systems. In August 2023, the city of Flint received $170 million from the Protecting MI Pension Grant Program. The city projects the state money will help reduce its pension contributions to $20 million a year in 2025, 2026 and 2027.

Flint’s pension system was 61.6% funded in 2023. That’s the latest data available from the Municipal Employees Retirement System of which the city of Flint belongs. As of 2023, Flint had 1,639 retirees.