I'm probably too simplistic with this, but I see this PACT problem as mainly caused by poor planning and fund management. The state of Alabama/treasurer should be in better control of such.

Of the three events that Kay Ivey says precipitated the crisis, two should have been foreseen and planned for accordingly:
1. the increase in enrollees attending college the past several years (did the managers not look at their ages when they enrolled?)

2. the tuition increases. Isn't that the main reason we contract holders got into the program in the first place, because tuition has been increasing exponentially for years????

While the stock market drop was out of the managers' control, as the storm clouds gathered, they could have been moving money to safer havens if they were paying attention. Everyone should rebalance their investment portfolios on a regular basis.