Did you catch Mayor Carlisle’s “State of the City” speech?

Some interesting — and commendable — money news: The mayor wants to start pre-funding the city’s share of retiree health benefits, known as OPEB or “other post employment benefits.”

He’s proposing setting aside $40 million in fiscal 2013 for this, and added: “At this rate, after ten years we will have over one half-billion dollars in the post-employment health care fund.”

State and city retirees are eligible for health coverage for themselves, and, depending on their hire date, dependents.

The state, and most counties, are on a pay-as-you-go basis for these costs, which has created a $14 billion unfunded liability for the Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund. Honolulu represents about 19 percent of that liability, or $2.6 billion.

Some perspective on how much it would cost the state to pre-fund: To pay off the state’s portion of the EUTF’s $9.8 billion in liabilities, Kalbert Young said the state would have to pay $450 million to $550 million a year over 30 years. That would be on top of the approximately $500 million in annual payments the state makes for active employees.