2013 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Social Security

Pat Quinn: Balance budget by reforming our public pension systems

This is a choice about whether we'll make the tough decisions necessary to balance our budget by reforming our public pension systems, or whether we will let our jobs, our safety, and our schools be squeezed out by skyrocketing pension costs.

We have a tall task ahead of us. This is no small issue. And doing what's hard isn't always what's popular at the moment. But, we must remember that hard is not impossible.

We cannot allow our economic recovery to be held hostage by the pension crisis. We simply must act. Our vision for our Illinois cannot be fully realized without pension reform. This problem cannot be delayed, deferred, or delegated to the next session, or to the next generation.

Tom Corbett: Resolve our pension crisis for state employees, without cuts

We cannot let that happen. We cannot allow hard-working teachers and state employees to be threatened by the loss of their pensions. Resolving our pension crisis will be the single most important thing we do.

I will not allow any cuts to any benefits of our retirees. Let me repeat that: no cuts to any retiree benefits. They earned their retirement. They earned their guaranteed security. Nor will I allow any pension dollars already earned by any current employee to be diminished in any way.

What we need to do, going forward from this time, is to create a new 401(k)-style retirement benefit for our future employees consistent with the retirement packages currently enjoyed almost universally by private sector employees.

Dan Malloy: Restructure pension benefits to address chronic underfunding

We restructured our payments to reverse years of chronic underfunding. We're saving Connecticut taxpayers

Chris Christie: Pension reform: raise retirement age, suspend COLAs

In total, the pension and health benefits reform package that you passed will save taxpayers over $120 billion over the next 30 years. Just as importantly, it will help make sure the pension is actually there when our public employees and school teachers retire. Other states have noticed: this reform is becoming a model for America.

When we combine this needed discipline on spending and taxes, with responsibility in addressing our long-term liabilities, with pro-growth actions on the regulatory side, we have made New Jersey a better place to do business.