Public Employee Pension Systems

It’s going to take much of the East Coast a while to dig out from the blizzard of 2016, but they will. It will be much harder, however, for Illinois to dig out from its unfunded pension liability, which the office of Illinois Auditor General William G. Holland reports has worsened further.Another $... READ MORE

The Nutmeg State has taken another step toward the creation of a state-run retirement program for private sector workers with the release of a lengthy report detailing the potential elements of such a program.In 2014, Connecticut enacted legislation creating the Connecticut Retirement Security... READ MORE

Be ready for more of the same regarding attention to fees charged plan sponsors and participants. That is the 2016 prediction of Susan Mangiero, a certified Financial Risk Manager, Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst, Certified Fraud Examiner and Professional Plan Consultant.In her blog,... READ MORE

The overall funded ratio for public pension plans improved by just over four percentage points in 2014. That’s good news, but in its recent study Milliman also includes some caveats that indicate that in both the short and long run, the picture may not be entirely rosy.Milliman’s annual Public... READ MORE

The San Diego City Council’s Budget Committee has voted against a proposal by Mayor Kevin Faulconer (R) that would have created a $21 million reserve fund to cover unexpected increases in city contributions to the San Diego City Employees Retirement System (SDCERS). The city, the 8th largest in the... READ MORE

The pressure is mounting on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) to compromise on budget and pensions proposals. The state is now 105 days late passing a budget, the longest budget impasse in the state’s history, besting 2009’s stalemate of 101 days under then-Gov. Ed Rendell (D).In June, Wolf vetoed... READ MORE

Wealth does not always equal solvency — at least as far as states’ per capita income versus how well-funded their pension obligations is concerned, according to a recent report. A Wall Street Journal report shows that simply having a surfeit of high-income residents does not necessarily translate... READ MORE

The assets of the 100 largest U.S. public employee pension systems fell slightly from the first quarter of 2015 to the second, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Their collective holdings amounted to $3.369 trillion, down 1% from the $3.401 trillion they had at the end of the first quarter.These... READ MORE

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is considering adopting new risk-mitigating strategies — investing a portion of its holdings in more stable funds not subject to the vagaries of a volatile stock market. The plan could shift up to $20 billion of CalSTRS’ $191 billion into... READ MORE