The city of Pittsburgh's long-struggling pension fund has lost money this year, and an emerging state fix for troubled municipal retirement pools could make matters worse, officials said today.

As of late this month, the city's pension fund held $251.5 million, or 28 percent of the ideal level of $899 million needed to cover the benefits of current and former employees. That's down $10 million from the end of last year but represents a rebound from low levels hit in late March, when the fund contained just one-quarter of what it should. The recent improvements were caused by a stock market rise and the city's decision to plunk money into the fund earlier in the year than it did in past years.

"Hopefully, the worst is behind us," said Tony Pokora, the city's assistant finance director.

Pension board members meeting today universally panned what they said was legislation about to emerge from the state's Public Employees Retirement Commission. Members and consultants briefed on the plan said it would force municipalities -- like Pittsburgh -- with pension accounts that are less than half funded to fold their retirement pools into the state's control and adhere to dramatically different payment schedules.

Dean Ross, the city's actuary, said the latest draft of the legislation would allow the city to make relatively modest payments toward its pension gap in early years, followed by "a huge payment at the end" of a funding schedule.

That's the opposite of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's approach, which involves making larger-than-required payments into the fund now and trying to lease city parking garages and plunge hundreds of millions of dollars of hoped-for proceeds into the fund.

Scott Abel, an Atlanta-based analyst with Mercer Investment Consulting, which handles the fund portfolio, called the emerging legislation "the most ridiculous chicanery that I've ever heard."

"We're opposing this, guys," said Joe King, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1, and a pension fund board member. He said the union would be in Harrisburg lobbying next week. "We're shutting it down."

PERC Executive Director James L. McAneny could not be immediately reached for comment.