Fitch Ratings said in a report issued today that New Jersey's pension liability will likely continue to grow in the coming years because the state has no plans to fully fund the plan for another six years.

The ratings agency said the pension deificit stands at $41.8 billion, while the budget for the fiscal year ending June 30 funds just 14 percent of the actuarial requirement, or about $2.9 billion less than the actuarially required amount.  Those numbers take into account the sweeping overhaul of the pension system enacted last year.

"We believe that meeting the large increases in pension contributions needed to achieve full funding of the annual required contribution in 2018 will be challenging and is likely to conflict with other long-term goals, including property tax relief, school funding, and infrastructure needs." analysts for the agency said in the report.

The state has also built an 8.25 percent return on investments into its calculation, which if not met would also increase the liability, the report said.