Public Employee Pension Systems

The Arizona Supreme Court on Nov. 10 ruled in Hall v. Elected Officials’ Retirement Plan, et al. and State of Arizona that a measure enacted in Arizona in 2011 that altered the retirement plan for state elected officials, including judges, violates the state constitution.The measure at issue,... READ MORE

Two bills that would facilitate reform of New Jersey’s public pension plans are now before the state Senate. Senate Bill 2555 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 123 have been filed in the chamber by Sens. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Red Bank) and Steven Oroho (R-Sparta).SB 2555 would create a task force to... READ MORE

The devil is often in the details in litigation — but now the “devils” find themselves in the defendant’s chair.In this case we’re talking about the (Blue) Devils — specifically, Duke University, which has, in the most recent class action filing by the law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton,... READ MORE

After almost nine years of waiting, finally IRS has issued proposed regulations for 457(f) plans! In MarketBeat, Susan Diehl writes that the new proposed regulations for government and tax-exempt 457(b) and 457(f) plans and for profit-companies’ top-hat plans under Internal Revenue Code Section... READ MORE

This year has proved to be a more civil one in the Pennsylvania legislature than 2015. The Republican-led General Assembly passed a final budget and Democratic Gov.Tom Wolf allowed it to become law rather than vetoing it like he did last July. However, pension reform legislation is now on hold... READ MORE

Public pension plans face sobering liabilities, and recently released data provides a look at funding and also where the states stand.Work to DoHalf the states’ pension plans are 70% funded or less, Bloomberg has reported based on data from 2014. The 10 states whose funding woes were the most acute... READ MORE

It’s not news that public pensions face many challenges, not the least of them funding issues. But a recent study suggests that all is not lost and that public pensions have more vitality than one may have thought.In the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) report, “Preserving... READ MORE

The IRS on June 21 issued proposed regulations prescribing rules for taxing compensation deferred under 457 plans established and maintained by state or local governments or other tax-exempt organizations. These proposed regulations include rules for determining: when amounts deferred under these... READ MORE

The U.S. Census Bureau has issued data on revenues, expenditures, cash and investments, and membership data by state and local government for the period July 1, 2014-June 30, 2015. “Survey of Public Pensions: State- and Locally-Administered Defined Benefit Data” provides revenues, expenditures,... READ MORE