Study says City of San Diego underfunding health benefits

City of San Diego employees may soon see their retiree health benefits cut significantly, according to a study by ElderBranch, an online information portal dealing with healthcare issues.

Cities are underfunding employees' healthcare plans, and more than half won't be able to close the gap through tax boosts and spending cuts alone. San Diego is one of the troubled cities, says ElderBranch.

Last year, only 44 percent of the annual required contribution to healthcare was funded in San Diego, according to the study. Indianapolis was worst, with 9 percent.

San Diego taxes would have to go up 2.12 percent and spending cut 2.1 percent to close the funding gap. (Detroit spending would have to be cut 17.4 percent.) ElderBranch figures that an additional 19.1 percent of San Diego employees' salaries would have to be taken to close the funding gap. (Again, Detroit is worst, with an estimated 32.2 percent.)