Pittsburgh, Penn. avoids state takeover of pensions

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Pennsylvania city of Pittsburgh has met the legal threshold of funding its pension systems, averting a takeover by the state, the head of the state Public Employee Retirement Commission said on Monday.

Last year, the state told Pittsburgh it must meet a 50 percent funding level by the end of 2010 to avoid having its pension system absorbed into a state-managed system.

In response, the city approved a plan to increase parking garage and meter fees and direct that money into the pension fund, which at that time was only about 30 percent funded.

James McAneny told Reuters in an interview the city's pension systems were 62 percent funded.

(Reporting by Edith Honan, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)