As announced by Treasurer Nancy Kopp at the MACo Legislative Committee meeting last week, the Baltimore Sun reports that the three top rating agencies (Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch) affirmed Maryland’s AAA bond rating.  However, some concern was expressed over the state’s “depleted retirement system.”

Moody’s called the state’s $33 billion system a “credit challenge” and reported ominously that it is funded “at a lower level” than the retirement funds of most other AAA-rated states.

The three agencies disagreed in characterizing the state’s debt levels. Moody’s called them “high.”

But Standard and Poor’s disagreed; their analysts called the state’s debt “low.” And Fitch, the smallest of the three agencies, characterized the debt burden as “moderate.”