News Clips for December 10th, 2013
NCPERS News
NCPERS Objects to Detroit Bankruptcy Ruling
The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) respectfully but strenuously objects to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes's decision to allow the city of Detroit to enter Chapter 9 bankruptcy - and cut the pensions of Detroit's police, firefighters and city workers to resolve its financial dilemma.
National News
State conservative groups plan public sector assault Conservative groups in 34 U.S. states plan coordinated assaults on taxes, healthcare, public sector pensions and the environment, organizing papers indicate.
Playing Pension Games
Pity the municipal bondholder. Between Detroit's bankruptcy and the rising concerns over unfunded pensions in Illinois and elsewhere, it has been a rough year for many muni bond investors.
7 New Trends in Retirement
We all know that retirement today is not the same as it was for our parents. Pensions are nothing but a dim memory for many of us, and we all worry about Social Security and the cost of health care.
BlackRock's Fink Warns of U.S. 'Retirement Crisis'
BlackRock CEO Warns 'As A Nation We're In Denial'
Let's get this straight: AIG execs got bailout bonuses, but pensioners get cuts No one has accused city workers in Chicago or Detroit of bringing down the economy, but they could face pension cuts
State News
Alaska governor unveils plan to reduce unfunded pension liability
Alaska governor Sean Parnell will urge his fiscal 2015 budget plan that the state tap $13 billion in one of its savings accounts to pay down a combined $11.9 billion unfunded liability in Alaska's two largest pension funds.
Chicago Pursues Deal to Change Pension Funding
The hard-fought passage here Tuesday of a landmark bill trimming retirement benefits for state workers, aimed at fixing the vastly underfunded pension system, has become instantly relevant to the nation's third-largest city, which has its own pension systems in various stages of financial collapse.
Detroit Ruling on Bankruptcy Lifts Pension Protections
In a ruling that could reverberate far beyond Detroit, a federal judge held on Tuesday that this battered city could formally enter bankruptcy and asserted that Detroit's obligation to pay pensions in full was not untouchable.
Spinning off museum from city could save art, pensions
Some of the city's most powerful leaders are working furiously to fashion a grand bargain in which nonprofit foundations would put up $500 million to spin off of the Detroit Institute of Arts of the city, and that money would be used to reduce pension cuts and help rebuild city services
Pension Ruling in Detroit Echoes West to California
A judge's decision in Michigan is resonating all the way to California.
California City's Return to Solvency, With Pension Problem Unsolved
Before Detroit filed for bankruptcy, there was Stockton.
Pension reform alternatives will include replacing traditional pensions with 401 (k) or cash-balance plans
Jacksonville pension task force meeting this week will consider the merits of replacing the traditional pension with different retirement plans that have been enacted in other parts of the country.
NY Lawyer Charges RI Pension Investments Tied to New SEC Complaint
A whistleblower's attorney in New York alleges that a Securities and Exchange complaint filed earlier this year "undoubtedly" has ties to Rhode Island private equity pension investments.
Opinions
THE REAL REASON FOR PENSIONS
As Boomers Retire, We'll All Be Detroiters Soon
Analysts have warned for years about the massive underfunding of public pensions. The Detroit bankruptcy will test whether governments can cut back on promises made years, even decades, earlier. Make no mistake, other cities are watching the proceedings. (I'm talking about you, Philadelphia.)
There's hope for solving Jacksonville's pension mess
Confidence is growing that the Retirement Reform Task Force is going to come up with a workable solution for solving the police and fire pension mess.
It's been a bad week for public workers. |
