To me, 'public pension monies' (more or less, retirement savings from citizens who happen to work for the government) and 'public funds' don't seem like the exact same thing. To me, public funds implies money from the government budget or sovereign wealth funds.

Although I admit that the government may be on the hook to replenish any spectacular failures in such a pension plan so in that way, it is somewhat fair -- though I doubt any one investment is weighted so heavily in any pension fund as to precipitate such an event.

Government workers are funded by public money, so public pension monies are funded by public money ultimately.