Kansas officials are defending the state’s decision to sell $1 billion in bonds in an effort to boost the financial health of its public pension system after a rating agency’s report suggested the move won’t help much.

Kansas was selling the bonds Wednesday after legislators authorized them earlier this year. The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System expects to earn more from investing the bond proceeds than the state will pay to investors over 30 years.

The move is designed to help the pension system close a $9.5 billion gap between revenues and benefits owed retirees before 2034. Moody’s Investors Service said in a report Tuesday that issuing the bonds will do little to solve the problem and presents some risk.

But KPERS Executive Director Alan Conroy said there’s little risk.