NCPERS News Clips

September 10, 2013

News Clips for September 10th. 2013

National News

• Hank Kim on Fox News discussing Detroit Pensions
  (Video) On August 21, 2013, Executive Director Hank Kim was on Fox News discussing the Detroit bankruptcy and their pensions.
• Sallie Mae dumps ALEC after pressure from students
  Considering that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) pushes legislation specifically targeting the financial futures and voting rights of college students, you can see why college students might object to paying large piles of money to an ALEC member.

State News

• Goldwater co-founder launches drive to curb size of public-employee pensions
  (Arizona) Saying he doesn't want a Detroit-like bankruptcy here, a GOP activist is hoping to get voters to curb the size of pensions for public employees.
• Pension fight is on
  (California) San Bernardino ruling means Stockton, CalPERS will meet in court
• Think tank says Kentucky’s pension liabilities now more than $70 billion
  A conservative think tank estimates that Kentucky’s massive unfunded pension liabilities now exceed $70 billion.
• NM court hears case over educator pension cuts
  New Mexico highest court will issue a decision later in a potentially far-reaching legal challenge over whether the state can cut cost-of-living increases for retired government workers to shore up a pension system's long-term finances.
• PERS requirements changing
  Some elected officials and part-time public employees may find they no longer qualify for 100 percent benefits when they retire because of changes in Ohio's Public Employee Retirement System.
• What PERS reform might look like in special session
  (Oregon) Gov. John Kitzhaber hasn’t called a special session yet, but he hasn’t given up on the idea. If he does call one, it will be held Sept. 30 and deal with two goals: raising taxes and reducing the cost of public pensions.
• Pension task force holds first meeting
  (Tennessee) Chattanooga is on its way to considering changes to how it will fund its police and fire pension plan, which offers an alternative retirement benefit to sworn personnel who cannot contribute to Social Security.

Opinion

• Public Pensions Remain Strong
  It is good public policy to ensure that our pension system remains well-funded so that the financial welfare of these public servants in retirement is fair-and-reasonable.