John Iekel

The states may serve as laboratories and “try novel social and economic experiments,” wrote U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, and a recent NTSA webcast addressed how they do that regarding retirement systems. In “Public Pensions in Flux? A Review of State Retirement System and Alternatives... READ MORE

The Garden State is the latest state whose credit rating has suffered due to a pension funding shortfall. Credit agencies have downgraded their ratings of New Jersey debt due to the state’s worsening pension funding ratio.CIO.com reports that Fitch has downgraded New Jersey’s municipal bonds from A... READ MORE

The California Controller’s office soon will make information about the state’s approximately 130 public pension systems available on a new website. California Controller John Chiang on Sept. 8 unveiled the site, which provides a wide range of data on city and county finances. The new site... READ MORE

The Land of Lincoln has earned a dubious distinction, according to a new report by Moody’s: It is without peer in how its state pension liability compares to its revenue. Moody’s says that Illinois’ pension debt amounts to a whopping 318% of its revenue in 2012. Its three-year average for the... READ MORE

The 2014-15 budget that North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed into law does more than fund state functions: it also expands state control over state pension fund investments. PI Online reports that the budget provides for 10 new investment staff positions.  North Carolina Treasurer Janet... READ MORE

It’s hurricane season, which brings handling emergencies into sharper relief. Under a 457(b) plan, a hardship distribution can only occur when the participant is faced with an unforeseeable emergency.  An unforeseeable emergency is a severe financial hardship resulting from an illness or... READ MORE

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently that an inherited IRA is part of a bankruptcy estate and subject to creditors’ claims. This raises questions: if that is the case with IRAs, does that then have implications for retirement plan assets belonging to those who declare bankruptcy? In this week's... READ MORE

Distinguishing who the fiduciary is within a 403(b) plan or other qualified plan is an important determination, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s an easy or clear determination. Quite the contrary: it is a highly confused, misinterpreted and somewhat gray area that many plan sponsors wish... READ MORE

State and local pension plans’ investments showed robust growth for the 12-month period that ended June 30, Wilshire Associates reports. These plans’ investments showed median growth of almost 17%, the strongest growth since fiscal year 2011.  The growth was fueled in large part by the... READ MORE