Headlines about "Actuarial - funding of pensions"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
[Opinion] ERIC to Congress: Fix Pension Funding Rules to Strengthen Pensions and Improve Economic Growth
"Gretchen R. Haggerty, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the United States Steel Corporation testified today on behalf of The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) . . . called on Congress to enact permanent reforms to the pension funding rules enacted under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), contending that the current rules are severely burdening companies, undermining the future of defined benefit plans and potentially threatening the country's larger national economic recovery." (The ERISA Industry Committee)

For 11 States and Puerto Rico, Cost of Employee Benefits Is One of Three Top Fiscal Issues for 2012 (PDF)
"Dealing with unfunded liabilities, increasing employee contributions and making significant reforms lie in the year ahead for state lawmakers." (National Conference of State Legislatures)

Providence Is Now on 'the Brink of Bankruptcy,' Mayor Taveras Warns
"Taveras said the city's retirees must accept reduced pension and health care benefits to save the city from financial ruin. A decree signed in 1991 by Mayor Buddy Cianci pushed the city's pension liability 'into the stratosphere' by giving annual cost-of-living increases of 5% and 6% to more than 600 retirees, he said." (WPRI.com)

PBGC Director Explains Retirement Security Challenges, Pension Agency Finances Before House Panel
"Josh Gotbaum, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), told a House subcommittee today that the combination of living longer, the economy, and changes in pension plans was threatening many people's retirement security. He also detailed the agency's financial challenges, and outlined an administration proposal to redress them by reforming how PBGC sets premiums." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

Webcast and Written Testimony: Hearing Entitled 'Examining the Challenges Facing PBGC and Defined Benefit Pension Plans'
February 2, 2012. (Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions; Education and the Workforce Committee; U.S. House of Representatives)

Association of Public Pension Plans Launches Web Site Promoting Extension of Coverage to Private-Sector Employees
"Retirement security for all Americans -- whether they work in the public or private sector -- must become a national priority. The Secure Choice Pension (SCP) plan would allow private companies and individuals to participate in a state-sponsored pension plan for the private sector. . . . The SCP benefits include having more taxpaying, productive retirees rather than senior citizens becoming wards of the state who rely upon public assistance." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS))

Providence, R.I., Mayor Proposes Benefit Cuts to Avert Bankruptcy
"Mayor Angel Taveras, a Democrat, outlined plans to reduce pensions for retired municipal workers and vowed to appeal a recent state court ruling preventing the city from forcing its retirees to switch to the federal Medicare health insurance program when they turned 65." (New York Times; free registration required)

Baltimore Mayor Takes Stand in Pension Trial
"The Fraternal Order of Police and the firefighters union contend that the administration's plan, which delayed retirement for some and abolished a fluctuating cost-of-living increase, among other changes, violates their contracts with the city." (Baltimoresun.com)

Is My American Airlines Pension Guaranteed? Yes, But...
"Who gets the haircut? The PBGC has a sliding scale of maximum benefits, depending on age. The most it will pay people who retire at age 65 is $55,841. If your benefit is less than that you have only the long-term health of the PBGC to worry about." (TIME.com)

Unions Howl at Details of Jerry Brown's Pension Overhaul Proposal
"The details delivered to the Legislature on Thursday generally tracked with an outline he unveiled in October. Representatives of a union coalition hoped to negotiate what they consider a less severe package. On Thursday, they said they felt blindsided." (Sacramento Bee)

California Governor Jerry Brown Delivers Pension Reform Language to Legislators
"The governor's plan won't go forward without two-thirds of the Legislature voting to put the constitutional changes on the Nov. 6 ballot, which would then need voter approval from a majority." (Sacramento Bee)

[Opinion] Where the CBO Report on Federal Pay Went Wrong
"[The federal] employees that the report claims may be overcompensated are hardly those whom people would think of as 'government bureaucrats in Washington.' No, these 'bureaucrats' are among the lowest-paid federal employees, doing unglamorous but critical work around the country." (Washington Post)

Mayor Says Pensions and Benefits for Uniformed Workers Will Cost New York City More Than Their Actual Salaries
"Pensions and fringe benefits for uniformed workers are going to cost the city more next year than their actual salaries, Mayor Bloomberg revealed [on Thursday, Feb. 2] as he made another strong pitch for Albany to enact pension reforms." (NYPOST.com)

California Teachers' Pension Trims Investment Forecast to 7.5%
"The change means the plan will need larger contributions from taxpayers, teachers, school districts, or a combination of all three, to cover pension costs." (Businessweek)

Some Top Military Brass Making More in Pension Than Pay
"Previously, the maximum annual pension was based on an officer's pay at 26 years of service. Now, a four-star officer retiring in 2011 with 38 years' experience would get a yearly pension of about $219,600, a jump of $84,000, or 63% beyond what was once allowed." (USATODAY.com)

Judge Rejects Law Seeking to Reform New Hampshire State Pensions
"A major component of the reform law was hiking the amount that all public employees contribute from their salary to support the state's retirement pension account. [The plaintiff] argued that it was against the law to increase the contributions for all employees who had worked for at least a year. Judge McNamara agreed." (New Hampshire Union Leader)

Underfunded Pensions: The Looming Crisis Facing Investors
"It's no secret that the financial crisis and resulting malaise has taken its toll on bank stocks, commodities and Treasury yields. But it may be have triggered another ripple ? one that has gone somewhat unnoticed. Pension funds have become seriously underfunded." (CNBC)

Retirement Benefits, Pay, Duties, And Attrition of United States Capitol Police, Compared to Other Federal Police Forces
"USCP generally has enhanced retirement benefits, a higher minimum starting salary, and a wider variety of protective duties than other federal police forces in the DC metro area that GAO reviewed . . . . In 2010, the USCP Labor Committee presented six proposals that would enhance the current USCP benefit structure. GAO's analysis shows that five of the six would increase existing costs . . . ." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

New York City Mayor Faces Rising Pension Costs in 2013 Budget
"New York owes its five pensions about $2 billion more than previously budgeted because officials have been too optimistic in assuming an 8 percent return on fund investments, Chief Actuary Robert North has determined." (Bloomberg)

Unions Shocked By American Airlines Proposed Cuts
"The company -- which is in bankruptcy -- also wants to reduce salaries by 20 percent and end its pension plan." (National Public Radio)

American Airlines Wants to Terminate All Four of Its Pension Plans
"If it does take over the plans, the PBGC will assume the responsibility for paying retirees' benefits -- but not necessarily all of them. The agency caps the monthly benefit it pays at $4,500 a month for plans ended in 2010. It has said about $1 billion in promised benefits to the highest-paid AMR retirees would not be paid." (Star-Telegram.com)

PBGC Intends to Revise 2013 Filing Procedures and Instructions, Requests Comments
Includes a summary of the proposed revisions. 'The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) proposed submission of information collection regarding payment of premiums. Comments are due April 2, 2012." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

PBGC Files Liens Against Assets of American Airlines
The PBGC has filed $91 million in liens against assets of American Airlines, which has hinted that it might freeze or terminate its four defined benefit pension plans as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, according to the Associated Press. (AP via New York Times)

House Panel to Examine Financial Health of PBGC This Thursday
"The House Education and Workforce Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions subcommittee hearing comes at a time when the PBGC has a record $26 billion deficit in its insurance programs that are used to pay benefits promised by financially struggling or failed employers whose pension plans the agency has taken over." (Business Insurance)

Alaska Senator Advocates Creation of Optional Defined Benefit Plan for State Employees
"The bill calls for a new defined benefit plan tier following backlash from 2006 legislation that made Alaska the first state to switch to an all defined contribution plan structure for new employees. . . . [M]unicipalities are concerned with the potential of training and employing police officers for five years, only to see them bolt with their [defined contribution plan] assets to another state that can offer a pension." (Pensions & Investments, reprinted in Business Insurance)

Record High Pension Assets Hit By Rising Liabilities
"Global pension assets hit a record high at the end of last year, but burgeoning liabilities meant funding ratios were in a worse state than 12 months earlier, a survey has shown. . . . [L]ower interest rates and changes to other accounting measures around the world's major economies meant liabilities also hit record highs compared to a benchmark date at the end of 1998, Towers Watson said." (aiCIO)

Lower Your Earnings Assumption, Milliman Tells Second-Largest Public Pension Plan
"'There is a less than 50 percent probability that the current assumption' of 7.75 percent will be met [by the California State Teachers' Retirement System] 'over the long term,' Milliman actuaries wrote in their report." (Bloomberg)

Public Pensions Pile on Risk to Beat Underfunding
"Public sector pension fund investors and their fund managers react differently to an underfunded status than their private sector peers, Nancy Mohan and Ting Zhang at the University of Drayton found in research . . . [G]overnment accounting standards 'strongly affect risk-taking behavior', as most pension plans used higher return assumptions to discount their pension liabilities." (aiCIO)

Setting the Record Straight on 12 of the Biggest Myths Over Public Pensions
"One of my pet peeves in the ongoing debates over public pension reform is the way partisans on each side try to pitch half-truths and myths to support their arguments. . . . There's an old saying in politics that if you tell the same lie long enough, the public will eventually believe it -- and that apparently is the mentality of lobbyists on both sides. . . . . I'd like to set the record straight on a dozen of the most glaring fallacies and silly slogans." (Governing.com)

[Opinion] Teachers' Pension Issue: The state of Maryland vs. the Counties
"[The governor's] proposal to shift 50 percent of the cost of teachers' pensions from the state to the counties in which they are employed has county officials scrambling --and the budget isn't even approved yet." (www.delmarvanow.com)

Creating Your Own Private Pension Plan
"Under tax laws, high earners who are self-employed or the only employee of their own small business can create a personal pension plan and deduct hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from their taxes while squirreling away up to about $2.5 million in additional money for retirement." (The Wall Street Journal)

Global Pensions Asset Study, 2012 (PDF)
"This is a study of the 13 largest pension markets in the world and accounts for more than 85% of global pension assets. The countries included are Australia, Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US." (Towers Watson)

Global Pension Fund Assets Hit Record High in 2011
"Global institutional pension fund assets in the 13 major markets grew by 4% during 2011 to reach a new high of US$28 trillion, up from US$26 trillion in 2010 according to Towers Watson's Global Pension Assets Study released today." (Towers Watson)

The Sonoma County, California, Pension Crisis (PDF)
"As a result of its overly generous salaries and pension benefits, Sonoma County now has the highest pension debt per capita of any county in California and maybe the nation. And even with all this debt, which stands at over $500 million, the pension fund is underfunded by $380 million and the health insurance fund is underfunded by $250 million. In the last 4 years alone, due to the poor performance of its investments, the unfunded liability has increased by $600 million." (Sonoma County Tax Payers Association)

Annual Survey of Public-Employee Retirement Systems: 222 State Administered Defined Benefit Public Employee Retirement Systems
"The [survey] provides revenues, expenditures, financial assets, and membership information for defined benefit public employee retirement systems." (U.S. Census Bureau)

PBGC Responds to American Airlines' Letter on Employee Pensions
"The American letter also downplayed the pension cuts that would occur if American's plans are terminated and PBGC benefits are substituted. Although the figure appears nowhere in the management letter, the airline itself estimates that some 13,000 current or retired employees will have their pensions cut." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

PBGC Responds to American Airlines' Letter on Employee Pensions
"The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation today pushed back on misleading statements to American Airlines employees by its management about their pension plans. 'American Airlines is telling their workers and retirees not to worry, but they should,' said J. Jioni Palmer, PBGC's director of communications." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

Pension Shortfalls a Stark Corporate Challenge, According to Analysis
"The problem came into stark relief on Wednesday, when Boeing Co. joined a raft of U.S. companies that have announced hefty cash injections into underfunded pension plans, including General Electric Co., DuPont, Alcoa Inc., Honeywell International Inc. and Raytheon Co." (Reuters Limited via Business Insurance)

Louisiana Governor Proposes Pension Overhaul
"[T]he governor unveiled a detailed plan he says would both ease taxpayer burden and ensure that workers will receive promised benefits . . . . Jindal said the state's unfunded accrued liability has tripled to $18.5 billion over the past two decades, three times the current total payroll. For new hires, Jindal proposed a switch from a defined benefit plan to a cash-balance plan." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Get Ready for Record Pension Contributions
"On January 25, we saw the first signs of our forecasts that 2011 and 2012 would be record years for these pensions. Two announcements in particular caught our eye: Boeing announced it will contribute $1.5 billion to its pensions in 2012; Verizon announced it would triple its pension contribution in 2012. We will not be surprised when other large employers with defined benefit pension plans make these announcements in this 2012 earnings report season." (Retirement Town Hall)

Workers Fight Switch to 'Church Plan' Status of Pension Plans
"[A] growing number of plan sponsors with less-direct ties to religious organizations have been declaring themselves church plans and asking the Internal Revenue Service to issue private-letter rulings confirming the exemptions, which free the plans from federal funding requirements. They can stop paying PBGC insurance premiums and can even receive a refund of up to six years of insurance premiums . . . ." (Reuters)

Bill Adds Pension Cost for Teachers and Local Government Workers
"All public school teachers and local government employees would have to contribute 5 percent of their pay toward their retirement plan under legislation introduced in the Virginia Senate. Sen. John C. Watkins, R-Powhatan, also wants to prohibit school boards and local governing bodies from paying the employee share of their pensions as almost all school divisions and many local governments have for decades." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Developing a Pension Funding Policy for State and Local Governments (PDF)
"These funding principles can be thought of in a risk-management framework. In an effort to keep the employer's pension contribution relatively stable from year to year, a funding policy should: (1) identify keyrisk areas that add to contribution volatility and (2) identify ways to manage each of those risks. The primary risk areas in funding retirement systems are investment risks, demographic risks within the covered population, benefit or plan design risks, and governance risks." (Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company)

New Jersey not Making Its Share of Pension Contribution
"The pension reform passed last year helped lower the state's unfunded pension liability from $53.9 billion to $36.3 billion, but the state's pension hole grew by $5.5 billion by the end of the 2011 budget year, largely because the state failed to make a pension payment, an annual actuarial report on the pension funds shows, according to the Newark Star-Ledger." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Opinion] Public Pensions?are Not The Enemy
"It's not as though public employee unions are resisting any and all change. They did their part and agreed to a new pension tier [under the New York State and Local Retirement System] just two years ago that is projected to save $35 billion over 30 years. This is on top of wage freezes, furloughs, increased health contributions and layoffs." (NY Daily News)

San Jose Council Members Move to End Their Pensions
"The council voted unanimously to notify the California Public Employees' Retirement System of the city's intent to terminate the council member pension plan." (San Jose Mercury News)

Virginia Bill Shifts Portion of Pension Load to Teachers, Local Government Workers
"All public school teachers and local government employees would have to contribute 5 percent of their pay toward their retirement plan under legislation introduced in the Virginia Senate." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Debate over Public Pensions Research by Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
"A Dec. 13 SIEPR report . . . titled 'Pension Math: How California's Retirement Spending is Squeezing the State Budget,' examined the state of three of California's public employee pension systems: [CalPERS]), [CalSTRS] and the University of California Retirement Plan . . . . The study concluded that debt on public pensions was larger than the state is currently reporting . . . . In a joint email to The Daily, SIEPR Director John Shoven and Deputy Director Greg Rosston reaffirmed that SIEPR's research is not influenced by its corporate support . . . ." (Stanford Daily)

Call for Papers: Good, Better, Best: The Basics of Funding Public Sector Pension Plans
"Essay authors may choose how they distinguish between 'good, better, best and not recommended;' authors can consider factors such as ability to withstand economic downturns; alignment with sponsor cash flow considerations; time period over which an underfunded plan would become fully funded; allocation of costs to generations of taxpayers; ability to produce smooth pattern of contributions; alignment with markets (e.g. discount rates and investment); risk management; future service periods; or other factors of the author's choosing. . . . Essays should be submitted by Friday March 30, 2012 to Susan Martz, smartz@soa.org." (Society of Actuaries)

[Opinion] California Unions Clueless on Pension Costs
"The irony is that the hundreds of thousands of teachers, firefighters, police officers, clerks, janitors, garbage collectors and other public employees whose futures depend on the systems have the most to lose if they are not reformed." (The Orange County Register)

Budget Puts Military Pension Plan in Cross Hairs
"Right now, the system's 20-year vesting rule means many members of the military walk away with nothing, while those who put in 20 years or more can retire with at least half their salary and other lifetime benefits. In 2010, those payments cost the Department of Defense $50 billion. By 2034, it could balloon to $108 billion . . . ." (Pensions & Investments)

[Opinion] Public Pension Propaganda: The Lie
"NCPERS averaged 216 [public pension plan sponsor] responders to a survey who happened to have a funded ratio of 76.1% and Fitch ratings says 70% or above is adequate. . . . Who's to argue? Me." (Burypensions Blog)

[Opinion] Public Pension Propaganda: What They Got Right
"[On Thursday, Jan. 19, 2011] the National Public Pension Coalition held a press conference looking to influence anyone within earshot that public pensions should not be cut and are, in fact, affordable. In this series I will debunk some of their propaganda but, to start off, there is one area where this cabal got it absolutely right: . . . 401(k) plans are a scam perpetrated by employers to avoid obligations and the investment industry looking to siphon off fees. They are certainly inadequate as retirement vehicles." (Burypensions Blog)

[Opinion] California Public Pension Funds Should Disclose When Investment Earnings Miss The Mark
"Investment earnings are expected to provide two-thirds or more of the money needed to pay pensions in future decades. Critics say earnings forecasts, 7.75 percent a year for CalPERS and CalSTRS, are too optimistic and conceal massive taxpayer debt." (Capitol Weekly)

Connecticut Will Step Up Pension Payments to Save $5.8 Billion
"The stepped-up payment rate is intended to avoid a one-time obligation estimated at $4.5 billion in fiscal 2032, Malloy said yesterday in a statement. The sum, about four times the state's annual contribution in recent years, was projected based on continuing along that path." (Bloomberg L.P.)

[Opinion] Finally Retire New York's Overpriced Pensions
"Pension costs for state and local government employees in New York are among the highest in the nation and contribute significantly to our sky-high state and local tax burden. New Yorkers pay $574 per person per year in taxes for public employee pensions, more than twice the national average." (NY Daily News)

Pension Funds Hit By Weak Returns in 2011
"The average U.S. pension fund grew an estimated 1.4% in 2011, compared to 12.9% the previous year, according to BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, which combined actual returns data for the first 11 months of the year with a December estimate. In Japan, which is the second-largest pension fund market, the average pension fund lost 2.7% in 2011, compared to a gain of 1.6% the previous year . . . . (Pensions & Investments)

In Maryland, Shifting Pension Funding Costs to Counties Might Affect Teacher Salaries, Some Say
"If a pension pushdown does happen, some Washington County Board of Education members said it could affect salary issues in contract negotiations." (Herald-mail.com)

Federal Pay And Benefits Remain at Risk As Congress Returns
"House and Senate conferees are scheduled to begin discussions soon over how to finance a 12-month payroll tax cut extension past February, and those talks likely will include proposals to prolong the federal pay freeze and reduce the retirement benefits of government employees and lawmakers." (GovExec.com)

Pension Tensions Continue to Mount
"Whether it's at the state or the federal level, the debate revolves around a central question: Are public pensions too generous? The answer to that question is all over the map, figuratively and literally." (GovExec.com)

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