NCPERS News Clips

9/22/2009

State of the Nation

Generally, our clips are snapshots of the issues that public pension funds are dealing with around the nation. While we aren't able to put every story in our clips, we like to make sure it shows a representative sample of the stories in various states.

We also like our members to know that we provide more comprehensive informational resources. To that end, we produce a compendium of state legislative initiatives three times a year so that you know what other states are dealing with. We recently published Pension and Retirement Plan Enactments in 2009 State Legislatures, which can be found on our website by clicking here.

• US: Public pensioners have taxpayers as a backstop
  When it comes to retirement security, it pays to have something that is good enough for government work. While private-sector workers can only hope their 401(k)s and IRAs recoup their big losses of the last year, government employees are at less financial risk because their pensions are generally guaranteed by law -- with taxpayers on the hook for benefits.
• US: Pay-to-play cleanup may hit new PE funds
  Few disagree that the murky world of political fixers who hook up private equity firms with public pension funds needs cleaning up. But there are fears that an overzealous crackdown by regulators will also destroy a system that helps new and smaller funds to survive.
• FL: Governments helped to create this mess (OpEd)
  All the cacophony over some county salary adjustments, combined with a lack of historical appreciation over how three of our largest governments helped create this mess, needs to be clarified. Begin with the City of Miami, which faced bankruptcy in 1996.
• CA: The sky's not falling, and CalPERS is fine (OpEd)
  The moral of the well-known fable about Chicken Little is: While things may seem in dire straits, on closer examination they aren't.
• PA: Budget Accord Leaves Pension, Road Work Unresolved
  Pennsylvania lawmakers and Governor Edward Rendell may find it difficult to again reach a budget deal like the $28 billion one tentatively approved last week.
• Missouri to increase funding of employee pension fund
  Pension finance is an eye-glazing subject, but it's commanding plenty of attention as government retirement systems scramble to come up with enough money to offset steep stock market losses.
• OH: Board OKs delayed bonuses
  The board of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio voted yesterday to pay $3.4 million in bonuses to its investment staff, but only after the fund's assets grow to certain levels.
• IA: IPERS to receive lawmakers' help
  The Iowa Legislature will work to shore up finances of the state's largest public employees' pension fund, which has lost billions of dollars in investments, Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal said Wednesday.
• KS: KPERS facing bankruptcy if changes are not made, report says
  A report released yesterday by the Center for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas School of Business reveals that unless drastic changes are made to the structure of KPERS, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, the system will be unable to pay out promised benefits, and the shortfall--as much as $10 billion--will fall onto taxpayers' shoulders.