NCPERS News Clips

November 12, 2013

News Clips for November 12th, 2013

National News

• Stepping Up With a Plan to Save American Cities
  (New York Times) FOR decades, cities and states that needed more cash for their workers’ pensions have turned to local taxpayers, the municipal bond market or even the workers themselves. Now those options appear to be drying up.
• The billionaire play coming to your 401(k)
  Public pension funds are able to boost their returns by using alternative investments, including private equity. But you need big money—billions—to get into that game, which means 401(k) investors have been shut out. That's about to change.
• Controversial Paper Reignites Debate over pension Structure
  A paper critiquing traditional pensions has spurred chatter in the battle between defined contribution and defined benefit plans.

State News

• Pew study: Tampa hit bottom of recession harder than other big cities
  When it comes to government revenue, Tampa hit the bottom of the Great Recession harder than many big cities, according to a new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts' American cities project.
• Chicago bonds hold up in light trading after downgrade
  U.S. municipal bonds issued by Chicago held up in light trading on Monday even as the city's debt suffered another triple-notch ratings downgrade on mounting concerns about its public pension liabilities.
• Illinois pension debate overlooks role of public-sector jobs in sustaining the middle class
  Pensions have become a thorny and contentious issue in Illinois. The state has the worst funded pension liability in the country, with only 24 percent of the money it promised retirees available, according to State Budget Solutions, a national research group. Gov. Pat Quinn, who gets much of the blame for the crisis, even tried to stop lawmakers’ paychecks until they could agree on a new pension plan.
• City Council challenges mayor's pension change
  (Maryland) Councilwoman Holton's plan would allow new workers who earn less than $40K to keep a traditional pension
• Detroit bankruptcy eligibility trial wraps up Friday
  Friday should be the ninth and final day of an exhaustive trial into whether the City of Detroit was eligible to file for bankruptcy.
• New York Is Investigating Advisers to Pension Funds
  Public pensions in New York State have some of the most reliable funding in the country, but what happens to the money once it is in the pension system can be less clear-cut.
• N.C.'s retirement pension fund among top 25 worldwide
  North Carolina Retirement Systems, the formal name for the state's retirement pension fund, was one of only two U.S. funds to be named among the top 25 in the Sovereign Wealth Fund’s Public Investors 100 list for 2013.
• City pension overhaul soundly rejected
  Cincinnati voters on Tuesday soundly defeated a controversial ballot initiative that would have eliminated the city’s pension plan and replaced it with a 401(k)-style retirement system.
• Cincinnati Issue 4: Voters say loud no to pension reform
  Cincinnati voters overwhelmingly rejected Issue 4, a major overhaul of the city’s troubled pension system, in Tuesday’s election.
• City of Tulsa pension board suggests major changes to plan
  Raising the age for early retirement is recommended, as are higher contributions.
• In turnaround, R.I. treasurer releases costs of defending pension lawsuit
  How much has the State of Rhode Island spent defending lawmakers’ attempts to rein in the soaring cost of the state’s public employee pension system against legal challenges?
• San Antonio lauded for managing pension costs efficiently, study
  San Antonio has one of the most efficient pension expenses in the country, according to a study by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence.

Opinion

• Pension reform schemes threaten retirement security
  (Pennsylvania) Gov. Corbett and his allies are once again scheming to push for extreme pension reform proposals that stand to dramatically alter the retirement security of our cops, firefighters, teachers, nurses and public employees.
• The truth about Detroit: Fact-checking what Los Angeles Times got wrong
  Claim: Detroiters question whether the city’s historic bankruptcy filing was motivated by race, and whether the city’s resources will be plundered to pay debt to “Wall Street creditors.”
• Change for the better in pension accounting
  Something exciting has happened in government accounting, for those interested in defined-benefit pensions.
• Little Rock in a hard place
  (The Economist) DETROIT's bankruptcy has provoked much speculation about the potential for other US cities to be dragged down by their pension problems.
• Major U.S. Cities Still Not Recovered From Crisis
  (Wall Street Journal) Thirty major U.S. cities face a tough and uncertain road to recovery, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Charitable Trusts.