FRANKRORT, KY - Kentucky has a shortfall of more than $23 billion in what should have been set aside to fund pensions for retired public employees in the state.
 
That's one of the findings cited by the Pew Center for the States and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation in a report released Thursday.
 
The report said the shortfall is more than twice the amount of all revenue generated from state taxes in Kentucky last year.
 
Republican Sen. Damon Thayer and Democratic Rep. Mike Cherry, co-chairmen of the Kentucky Public Pensions Task Force, said in a joint statement that fixing the problem will require hard choices, good information and thoughtful analysis.
 
The Public Pensions Task Force faces a Dec. 7 deadline for recommending ways to shore up the state's pension plans.