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Public Employee Pension Systems

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) suffered a setback Feb. 23 in his plan to reduce the state’s contributions to the state pension system. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson said that the plan is unconstitutional.Christie’s administration planned to slash cut $1.57 billion more from the... READ MORE
More divides private and public employees than the kind of employer for which they work — what kind of retirement plan is available to them, and how many assets are available in each kind, varies as well. Pensions & Investments reports that the answer for each is the opposite of the other.By... READ MORE
The largest city in Florida and its Police and Fire Pension Fund have been mired in controversy for at least two years now, but the state legislature may help Jacksonville to resolve at least part of it.The Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund has a $1.6 billion unfunded liability. The city... READ MORE
Employees of the Windy City face the same circumstances as their counterparts who work for the government of their state: a pension system with huge funding liabilities. Chicago is third among U.S. cities in population, but it may be first in pension fund shortfall.Two of Chicago’s pension funds... READ MORE
It may not be largest city in Ohio or even on the Ohio River, but Cincinnati can lay claim to something enormous — its unfunded pension liability, which amounts to more than $860 million. A deal to address it is close to being struck, but that could be months away.According to WCPO, the fund, which... READ MORE
The pension system of Philadelphia, the 5th largest U.S. city, is an issue in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary, which will be held in May. This is in even sharper focus since two of the candidates are the incumbent, Michael Nutter, and former City Councilman James Kenney, who sponsored... READ MORE
A bill that would create a self-managed DC plan as alternative to the DB plan that currently serves Illinois public school teachers is before the Illinois House. Rep. Thomas Morrison (R-Palatine) introduced HB 0426 on Jan. 30.The bill would allow school districts to choose to enter the DC plan for... READ MORE
The Virginia House of Delegates on Feb. 6 passed a measure that would allow school districts to establish and administer their own 403(b) plans, and also would allow voluntary and matching contributions under the Commonwealth’s DC plan to be directed to those locally adopted 403(b) plans. HB 2178,... READ MORE
It’s not unusual for questions to arise about options for the beneficiaries of 403(b) accounts, including non-spouse beneficiaries’ ability to “stretch” the distributions from the deceased’s account over the beneficiary’s lifetime. In this week’s MarketBeat, Ellie Lowder reviews the basics of... READ MORE
“Get to work” is essentially the message of the Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) to 19 local pension plans in the Sunshine State. The Florida Times Union reports that DMS on Jan. 27 told the plans, all of which are less than 50% funded, that they need to address their unfunded... READ MORE
Recent discussions in disparate parts of Wisconsin illustrate well how widespread the problems concerning public pension funding and benefits are.Menomonie and Milwaukee, Wis., are night and day. They are on opposite ends of the state. Milwaukee, the state’s largest city, has 37 times the... READ MORE
What a difference a state line can make. Teacher retirement funds in North Dakota seek the state’s assistance to bolster their solvency, a marked contrast to the state of things in neighboring Montana, where the financial condition of teacher retirement plans has rebounded. The North Dakota School... READ MORE
Overall, 75% of the states have passing grades regarding their public pension plans. But that bit of at least fairly good news is not the whole story. The Urban Institute’s latest rating of public pension plans in all 50 states contains some good news, but also draws attention to plenty of red... READ MORE
The third quarter of 2014 brought good news and bad news for the 100 largest public pension plans in the United States. The bad news: The Census Bureau reports that their total holdings in cash and security amounted to $3.305 trillion, down from the $3.365 trillion of the second quarter of 2014.... READ MORE
The Pennsylvania Employee Retirement Commission’s recently issued report has some good news for Pennsylvania public pension plans, but also shows that there is more work to do. The report, issued in December, is based on 2013 actuarial municipal pension plan data. The report, which looks at the... READ MORE
California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is in trouble, and the state of California responded in 2014 with a measure to restore CalSTRS to health. This is a bitter pill for some school districts, according to recent budget forecasts that show that the contributions some districts make... READ MORE
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Dec. 10 announced that beleaguered Detroit is emerging from bankruptcy. This came two days after Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr issued his final order. Orr’s final order affirms the changes that have been made and agreed to regarding Detroit’s pension plan.... READ MORE
Kentucky and Tennessee share more than a long border — information about public pension plans in both states is hard to come by too. And that may not be changing any time soon. Kentucky Many public pension systems in the Bluegrass State are underfunded — some badly — and information about them is... READ MORE
The IRS announced on Nov. 21 that modified listings of required modifications (LRMs) for 403(b) plans will be available soon. It says it will make them available in time for the April 30, 2015 deadline for 403(b) plan sponsors to submit pre-approved plans under the IRS’ 403(b) pre-approved plan... READ MORE
In a year of positive — but modest — change, a new survey suggests that public pension funds are feeling better about their ability to deal with trends and issues, at least in the near term. According to the 2014 National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) Public Retirement... READ MORE

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