Connecticut Posts Budget Surplus for Eighth Straight Year
Connecticut closed the books on its eighth consecutive year with a budget surplus, Comptroller Sean Scanlon announced
The state has directed billions of dollars in surplus funds toward paying down pension debt since 2020, easing future budget pressure
Fiscal guardrails enacted by the General Assembly are directing the surplus money toward the state’s unfunded pension liabilities, and Connecticut’s credit ratings have also improved multiple times in the 2020s
State Comptroller Sean Scanlon announced this month that Connecticut closed the 2025-26 fiscal year with a budget surplus for the eighth straight year, with a final surplus exceeding $400 million.
Since Gov. Ned Lamont took office, Connecticut has experienced a series of strong years financially. Due to fiscal guardrails created by the General Assembly in the late 2010s, those surpluses are contributing to paying down the state’s unfunded pension obligations.
In a press release, Scanlon said it had taken a lot of work to get Connecticut’s finances on track.
“We’ve got lots of work left to do, but we should also celebrate how far we’ve come,” Scanlon said.
The Connecticut Mirror reported in late 2025 that the state contributed a total of more than $10 billion from surpluses into pension debt since 2020.
As a result of those paydowns, state leaders noted that future debt payments are hundreds of millions of dollars smaller than they would have been otherwise. In 2025-26, the state’s minimum required payment would have grown by $857 million without the past decade of contributions – which adds flexibility in future state budgets.
Additionally, the state’s credit ratings have been upgraded several times in the 2020s, which reduces borrowing costs for needed work like school constructions and transportation work.
Scanlon noted the state’s 2026 surpluses include $411.7 million in the General Fund and $22.7 million in the Special Transportation Fund. The $411.7 million sum was transmitted to support the state’s Early Childhood Education Endowment in late June, with an expected $1-1.1 billion contribution to pension debt following contributions to the state’s “rainy day fund,” which is at the maximum value allowed by law, the Mirror reported.
When adding in a projected $1.53 billion pension paydown in the 2027 fiscal year, the state may see mandatory annual debt contributions fall further by more than $200 million.
By Joe O’Leary
Eight years with a surplus? When do the taxpayers get a reduction in their taxes?
Well gosh golly gee. How does this filthy rich governor manage to do that without raising taxes on his filthy rich friends? I wish I could say the same about my end of year budget. But it's down. It's in a deficit. You guys really enjoy performative activism. It's your bread and butter. You say you care. School systems are segregated by taxes. You say your hands are tied by Republicans. You lie just like they do. You say your crime is down? You don't look at what's right in front of you. You say you're helping people? Why am I suffering like half of the people in Connecticut? The second I can move out of this God forsaken state, I'll be gone. Just like the huge portion of your population that was smart enough to get out when they could. Where's your statistic on that? Where's your statistic on the mental health crisis here? Where's the help that you're promising us? In Lamont's pocket I guess. Keep patting yourselves on the back. Keep blaming Republicans because that's pretty easy since they're no better than you. But never forget your parties are just two sides of the same rotten coin. Neither of you listen. Neither of you care. But you keep talking about how much you do for people. I'll believe it when I see it. I'll believe it when I can afford to live here. I'll believe it when you actually start listening to people like me. I'll believe it when you take accountability. I don't see that happening anytime soon. You've got individuals in your party who are decent. So does the other side. But as a whole - your party is corrupt. Because you refuse to listen to your constituents. Unless, of course, they're filthy rich