By Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Associated Press photo

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The runaway train that is the state's pension system is without question one of the biggest challenges confronting Gov. Chris Christie's successor.

The long-term pension hole is $44 billion — nearly $10 billion more than the state spends on everything in given year.

The hole was dug by politicians from both parties going back a quarter century, and governors over the past decade have failed to stem the tide.

Christie has been gradually increasing annual contributions to the pension fund by one-tenth of the contribution recommended by actuaries. The state will reach the full actuarial recommended contribution in 2023 if it continues on Christie's timetable. The contribution would be about $6.3 billion.

Here's what your next governor has to say about how they would fund and fix the pension system.

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Kim Guadagno, Republican

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Guadagno, Christie's lieutenant governor, says while the state should honor the commitment it made to the 800,000 currently in the system, she would "talk responsibly" about making changes for new hires.

She wants to make changes to the public workers' health care plans to bring them "in line with private sector offerings," according to her plan. That means she wants to renegotiate the plans to drop them down from so-called Cadillac health insurance status. It's something Guadagno argues can save the state $2.5 billion.

The problem? Guadagno would need the help of the state's Democratic-controlled state Legislature to enact changes.

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Phil Murphy, Democrat

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Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany and ex-Goldman Sachs banking executive, has committed on the campaign trail to fully funding the state's pension system. But details on how he would do that have been scant.

He has a plan to raise $1.3 billion by raising taxes on the wealthiest residents, closing corporate tax loopholes and legalizing and taxing marijuana. But to fully fund the pension the state would need billions of dollars of more revenue.

He repeated his claim in the last gubernatorial debate, but again, did not detail how he would pay for it.

"We have a very, very, credible plan to … fully fund the pensions over the next several years as rapidly as possible," Murphy said. "At least as fast — I hope a lot faster than this administration has been funding them."

Guadagno noted during the debate that his pension plan sounds a lot like Christie's.

While there aren't details of the payment plan, that's not entirely true. Murphy has also called on the state to divest in private equity and hedge funds embraced by the Christie administraion, saying the investments aren't worth the fees charged to the pension systems.

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Independents

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It's a mixed bag with the independents and third-party candidates candidates.

Among those who mention pensions on their campaign websites, only independent Gina Genovese, has detailed plan on pension reform.

Her admittedly "small steps" wouldn't generate the billions needed to right the ship. Genovese proposes reassessing the retirement age and tying cost-of-living increases to continued "residency in New Jersey so retirees are spending their money in the state," as well as refusing people to collect pensions if they're working public jobs, meaning they would have to fully retire in order to collect.

The other candidates offer fewer details on digging the state out of the pension hole.

Green Party hopeful Seth Kaper-Dale wants to have a single payer health system for the state, which he says will fix the state's pension system. But health care is only half of the pension's woes.

Peter Rohrman, the Libertarian Party nominee, proposes making the "pension system voluntary instead of forcing employees into a bankrupt system."

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What you think:

You can vote here on what you think the top issue in the race is, and use NJ Advance Media's interactive map to see how your neighbors voted.

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More coverage of the governor's race:

11 fiery moments and fact checks from Guadagno-Murphy debate

WATCH: Why did Star-Ledger endorse Phil Murphy?

5 questions your next governor dodged in the 1st debate

New poll shows Guadagno gaining. But is it too late?

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NJ Advance Media staff writers Claude Brodesser-Akner and Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.