The state of Alaska has sued Mercer for $1.8bn (€1.2bn) in damages, alleging that the company, which was the actuary for two of its pension funds, miscalculated the liabilities of the schemes in the face of booming healthcare costs.

The state has alleged that Mercer, which used to be the actuary for Alaska's $11.4bn Public Employees' Retirement System and $5.2bn Teachers' Retirement System schemes, used mistaken actuarial assumptions and methods about future healthcare costs, as well as "basic mathematical and technical errors".