NCPERS News Clips

9/29/2009

Survey Says

While not directly related to any particular story in this week's News Clips, we wanted to make sure you had an opportunity to view the new Health and OPEB Funding Strategies: 2009 National Survey of Local Governments, partially sponsored by NCPERS and conducted by Cobalt Community Research. The survey has some insightful data on what communities have done to evaluate their liabilities, and how they expect that information will affect post-employment benefits funding strategies.

To view the report, please click here.

• Ohio leads five pension funds in suing BofA over Merrill deal
  The state of Ohio is leading five pension funds in suing Bank of America Corp. over its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said Monday that the lawsuit against BofA, Merrill Lynch and executives, including BofA CEO Ken Lewis, could eventually seek billions in damages.
• KS: KPERS report sparks war of words
  The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System funding problem is starting to generate a lot of heat. KPERS suffered $2.3 billion in investment losses this year. No current retirement benefits are in jeopardy, but a report by the Kansas University School of Business Center for Applied Economics called the issue a "funding crisis," adding that "KPERS is bankrupt under current operating assumptions."
• KS: Governor cool to 401(k)-style plans for state
  Gov. Mark Parkinson signaled Friday that he opposes moving Kansas toward 401(k)-style pension plans for teachers and government employees.
• MI: Suits against pension trustees move forward
  Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Amy P. Hathaway today refused to toss out three lawsuits alleging the trustees of Detroit's two public pension plans squandered city workers' retirement money by investing in questionable deals that later failed, costing the funds tens of millions of dollars.
• NY: State Comptroller enacts campaign-contribution ban
  As per a recent executive order signed by Thomas DiNapoli--the New York State Comptroller and the exclusive trustee of the $116.5 billion state pension fund--a ban has been imposed on the pension fund restricting it from doing business with money managers who make campaign contribution to candidates running for the comptroller's office.
• CA: Calpers website to push back at emboldened critics
  Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, will launch a website on Thursday to answer critics who say its historic losses have created a financial time bomb and invite a political campaign to rein in its retirement benefits.
• AR: ATRS head to ask for attorney general's opinion
  The head of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System wants an attorney general's opinion on whether the system can legally collect millions of dollars from some retirees.
• GA: Pumped-up pensions squeeze city
  Atlanta has been rocked by the deep recession of the past two years, like most cities. But the city has a huge financial problem caused not by the global downturn, but by its own leaders.
• FL: Potential retirees play the numbers game
  No bad thing lasts forever, so it's nice to see that the state of Florida actually expects its employees will get pay raises again some day. Not next year. And not as much as had been predicted in previous forecasts by the Florida Retirement System.
• The modern retirement plan: Cross your fingers (OpEd)
  I come in contact with the failure of America's retirement system at my local supermarket. That's where a corps of elderly gentlemen bag my groceries. After the bags are piled in the cart, they ask me with slackened faces if I need help to the car. It's always a mildly awkward question. I am far more agile, and we both know it. Without fail this thought enters my mind: What went wrong for them?