Philadelphia's Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits

The Economy League and The Pew Charitable Trusts commissioned this study to understand why pension and healthcare costs are expected to overwhelm Philadelphia’s budget in the near future, growing at a rate higher than inflation and totaling a quarter of spending by 2012.

This report is meant to evaluate the extent of this “quiet crisis”; compare Philadelphia’s situation to other cities; and suggest policy options that would decrease projected costs yet be fair to the City’s employees.