By Johnny Kampis, includes “In a move that will make government-employee pensions less risky for taxpayers, N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell announced Tuesday, Feb. 2, that the assumed rate of return on the main state retirement plan will be lowered. … Lowering the rate requires greater contributions from state and local governments, but keeps debt from piling up in the long term. … Fiscal watchdogs criticize high rates of return for such government pension plans because taxpayers eventually have to pay the bill if the investments don’t meet the expected returns.”