NCPERS News Clips

October 4, 2011

News Clips for October 4th, 2011

• New York's DiNapoli wants commission to protect DB plans
  Thomas P. DiNapoli, comptroller of the state of New York and sole trustee of the $147 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, on Tuesday suggested creating a national commission “to talk about ways to maintain existing defined benefit plans.”
• Public pensions get a lift from stocks: Census
  Public pensions, stung by the financial crisis and government cutbacks, have enjoyed steadily improving investments for nearly two years, mostly due to stocks, U.S. Census data released on Thursday showed.
• Public pension plan assets at 3-year high
  The 100 largest U.S. public employee retirement systems had a combined $2.8 trillion in assets as of June 30, 1.3% higher than three months earlier and 17.6% higher than a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.
• Federal cuts might affect state pension plans
  Potential downgrades could have adverse effect on funding
• Gov: Pension overhaul won't cut existing benefits
  (Rhode Island) -- The architects of Rhode Island's pension overhaul plan said Friday their proposal won't reduce benefits that public workers have already earned, but stressed the need for a "one-time" comprehensive fix rather than piecemeal changes.
• Public Sector Overwhelmingly Favors Pension-Style Retirement: NIRS
  The study, “Decisions, Decisions: Retirement Plan Choices for Public Employees and Employers,” analyzed seven retirement systems in six states that offer a choice between pension-style plans and 401(k)s. It found that pension-style plans were selected between 75% and 98% of the time.
•  As State Issues Layoff Notices, Union's Leaders Stand by Vote Against a Contract
  Even as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sent layoff notices to the first of 3,496 employees he is vowing to let go, leaders of New York's second-largest union of state workers said Wednesday that they did not intend to ask their members to reconsider the proposed contract they had rejected.