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Welcome

The oncoming wave of public pension debt is even bigger than it seems. The purpose of this website is to provide an overview of the multiple pension crises that are about to drown America's taxpayers. Our primary focus is on California, but we also track other states, corporate pensions, social security and international trends. Now beginning its tenth year, PensionTsunami.com was founded by and is edited by Jack Dean. (Contact: JackDean(at)PensionTsunami.com or 916-644-0688 or @PensionTsunami)

Latest Newsclips     last updated March 9 4:51am PST

Each day's headline summary is e-mailed to subscribers.

March 9, 2014

• FOR WEEKEND VISITORS:
• California State Sen. De Leon Urges Probe of Former Vernon Official's $500,000 Pension (Jeff Gottlieb / Los Angeles Times)
• Sacramento County and Public Employee Unions Spar Over Pension Costs (Brad Branan / Sacramento Bee)
• Public Pension Red Alert (editorial - Wall Street Journal) $$
• TO RECEIVE DAILY EMAIL HEADLINE SUMMARIES >> CLICK HERE

March 8, 2014

• FOR WEEKEND VISITORS:
• Judge Determines That Contra Costa and Alameda County Pension Spiking Is Illegal (column - Daniel Borenstein / Contra Costa Times)
• California Felon's $551,000 Public Pension Finally Slashed by CalPERS (Teri Sforza / Orange County Register)

March 7, 2014

• New Alarm Bell About Public Pensions: Moody’s Warns Two Bankrupt California Cities About Reforming Retiree Costs (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Estimate of How Much California Owes for Retiree Healthcare Keeps Rising (Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times)
• California Controller Unveils Plan to Reduce State's $64.6 Billion Retiree Health Care Liability (press release)
• Unfunded Debt of California's State Worker Health Care Continues to Climb (Allen Young / Sacramento Business Journal)
• READ THE ACTUARIAL REPORT: State of California Retiree Health Benefits Program (pdf)
• The Unintended Consequences of High-Cost Employer Paid Health Insurance for Public Employees (Robert Fellner / UnionWatch)
• The 'California Rule' and 'The Fall of Pacific Grove' (Ivan Osorio / OpenMarket.org)
• San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed's Budget: Booming Economy Won't Help Much to Restore Services (Mike Rosenberg / Mercury News)
• CalPERS Just Called Me (blog - John Seiler / CalWatchdog)
• California State Sen. De Leon Urges Probe of Former Vernon Official's $541,000 Pension (Jeff Gottlieb / Los Angeles Times)
• California Lawmaker Wants to Stop 'Excessive' School Superintendent Pay (Adolfo Guzman-Lopez / Southern California Public Radio)
• Residents of Montebello, California Demand Special Pension Tax Remain in City (EGP News)
• BOOK REVIEW: 'The Beholden State: California's Lost Promise and How to Recapture It' (Mark Pulliam / The Weekly Standard)
• PBS's WorstHour? (column - Allysia Finley / Wall Street Journal) $$
• 'Retired’ School Chief Teaches New Jersey Pension Fund a $1.7 Million Lesson (Mark Lagerkvist / New Jersey Watchdog)
• De Blasio, Emanuel Bemoan US Indifference to Cities' Financial Plight (Tim Jones / Bloomberg)
• Rockford, Illinois' Dangerous Pension Status (audio - Ted Dabrowski / WROK Radio)
• Jacksonville Mayor Calls Need for Pension Reform a 'Moral' Issue (Anne Schindler / First Coast News)
• A Middle Ground in the Pension Wars (Matthew M. Chingos / Real Clear Politics)
• READ THE REPORT: Improving Public Pensions: Balancing Competing Priorities (pdf - Mahler, Chingos and Whitehurst / Brookings Institution)
• Bankrupt Cities? What About Distressed Cities? (Liz Farmer / Governing)
• Military Proposes Revolutionary Changes in Retirement Benefits (Andrew Tilghman / Army Times)
• The Fabulous Life of Your US Legislator (Naureen Khan / Al Jazeera)
• PENSION PULSE: Promoting Quebec's Hedge Funds? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)
• OFFICIAL WEBSITE: The California Pension Reform Act of 2014 (Coalition for Fair and Sustainable Pensions)
• OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Ventura County Pension Reform Initiative (Committee for Pension Fairness)
• SEARCHABLE DATABASE: The CalPERS $100,000 Pension Club
• SEARCHABLE DATABASE: The CalSTRS $100,000 Pension Club
• UNSUSTAINABLE: New York City Now Has More Retired Cops Collecting Pensions Than Active Cops on the Streets (op-ed - Nicole Gelinas / New York Post)

March 6, 2014

• California Felon Fights to Keep His $541,000 Public Pension (Teri Sforza / Orange County Register)
• How the 'California Rule' Holds Back Pension Reform (Ivan Osorio / OpenMarket.org)
• A Sweet Deal for San Diego’s New Police Chief (editorial - U-T San Diego)
• Report: Rockford, Illinois' Taxpayer Pension Liability Is Double What It Was a Decade Ago (Kevin Haas / Rockford Register Star)
• Chicago’s Pension Crisis and Latest Credit Downgrade (audio - John Kass and Lauren Cohn / WLS Radio)
• Pension Funds' 13th-Check Dispute Goes to Michigan Supreme Court (Paul Egan / Detroit Free Press)
• Rhode Island's Winding Road to Serious Pension Reform (Charles Chieppo / Governing)
• Without Leaders Shaping Rhode Island's Economy, Pension Problems Will Return (op-ed - Bob Holmes / Valley Breeze)
• Other Michigan Cities in Pension Debt -- It's Not Just a Detroit Problem (James M. Hohman / Mackinac Center)
• Proposal Would Overhaul Kentucky's Pension Systems (John Cheves / Lexington Herald-Leader)
• Naperville, Illinois City Council Rescinds Pension Benefit (Melissa Jenco / Chicago Tribune)
• Philadelphia Mayor Strikes Deal to Sell Utility to Help Fund Pensions (Ron Todt / Associated Press)
• Who Wants to See Their State Go Broke? (Ivan Osorio / OpenMarkets.org)
• Another Way to Do the Math for Social Security Reform (Phillip Swagel / New York Times)
• PENSION PULSE: OMERS Gains a Mere 6.5% in 2013 (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

March 5, 2014

• California Mayors Fight Pension Powers That May Cut Their Costs (Alison Vekshin / Bloomberg)
• Public Sector Pension Plans Like CalSTRS Do Not Pass the 'Smell Test' (Ed Ring / UnionWatch)
• California’s Legislative Analyst Says Cost for State Workers’ Pay to Increase $500,000,000 Next Year (column - Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• READ: The 2014-15 California Budget: State Worker Salary, Health Benefit, and Pension Costs (pdf - Mac Taylor / Legislative Analyst)
• Why Are Retirements of California's Local Government Employees Spiking? (column - Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Thousand Oaks City Council Opts Against Pay Raise; Agrees to Contribute More Toward Pensions (Anna Bitong / Thousand Oaks Acorn)
• Why Is Nobody Listening to Warren Buffett on Public Pensions? (Michael Moritz / Linked In)
• Data Show How Much New York City Workers Earn; NYPD Employees Earned $635 Million in Overtime (NBC New York)
• New York City Payroll Updated on SeeThroughNY Website (David Lombardo / Empire Center)
• SEARCH the New York Payroll Databases (SeeThroughNY)
• Moody’s Downgrades Chicago’s Credit Rating, Lowest of Any Major City Except Detroit (CBS Chicago)
• Why the State Journal-Register Is Wrong About Illinois Municipal Pensions (Ted Dabrowski / Illinois Policy Institute)
• North Carolina Pension Fund Fees Criticized by SEANC Consultant (David Ranii / News & Obsever)
• Maryland's Fiscal Officials Oppose Tapping Pension Funds to Close Budget (CBS Baltimore)
• New Jersey Gov. Christie to Democrats on Pension Reform: 'My Patience, as You Might Know, Is Not Endless' (Matthew Arco / PolitickerNJ)
• Pennsylvania's Auditor General Says Pension Plans Could 'Cripple' Municipalities (Terrie Morgan-Besecker / Standard Speaker)
• Too Many Retirement Plans, Too Little Savings (editorial - Bloomberg)
• PENSION PULSE: Caisse de Depot Returns 13% in 2013 (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

March 4, 2014

• California’s Pension Debt to Its Teachers Is Growing by $22 Million a Day (Patrick Brennan / National Review)
• Experts Call for Actuarial Changes to Stem Underfunding of California's Public Pension Systems (column - Daniel Borenstein / Contra Costa Times)
• 'Earthquake Risk': Warren Buffett’s Pension Management Advice From 1975 (Steve Eide / Public Sector Inc.)
• Illinois Pension Lawsuits Will Be Combined, Heard in Springfield (Ray Long / Chicago Tribune)
• SPECIAL REPORT: The Crisis Hits Home: Illinois’ Local Pension Problem (pdf - Ted Dabrowski, Kyle Woodruff, Justin Hegy / Illinois Policy Institute)
• Unions Hoping Arizona Pension Decision Will Be Same in Illinois (video - WAND-TV)
• Pennsylvania's Pension Problems Cannot Be Ignored (editorial - The Sentinel)
• Pennsylvana's Pension Liability Is a Real Liability (column - Robert Swift / Daily Review)
• Colorado State Treasurer Sees Data as Pension Fix (Romy Varghese / Bloomberg)
• Dueling Pension Experts Face Off at Memphis City Council Meeting (Daniel Connolly / Commercial Appeal)
• PENSION PULSE: Buffett's Dire Warning on Pensions? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

March 3, 2014

• California's $600 Billion Pension Sinkhole (David Crane / Bloomberg)
• Three New Court Rulings on Cuts to California Retirees' Health Care (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• California Finally Faces Up to Its Public Pension Liabilities (editorial - Desert Sun)
• Settlement Talks Brewing in Landmark San Jose Pension Reform Case (Mike Rosenberg / San Jose Mercury News)
• Blue Civil War: The Battle of San Jose (blog - Walter Russell Mead / The American Interest)
• Torrance, Calfornia’s Public Employee Pension Debt Nearly Doubles (Nick Green / Daily Breeze)
• Incoming San Diego Police Chief Already Gets a $131,000 Pension (Craig Gustafson / U-T San Diego)
• Warren Buffett Says the Growing Crisis in Public Pensions Funds Will Intensify During the Next Decade (Luciana Lopez / Reuters)
• Warren Buffett Says Public Pension Tapeworm Means a Decade of Bad News (Noah Buhayar and Zachary Tracer / Bloomberg)
• READ OR DOWNLOAD the Annual Report of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (pdf)
• States Are Deferring Expenses as Pension Tabs Multiply (video - Adam Shapiro / Fox Business)
• For Ships of State, Public Pensions Are a Looming Iceberg (column - Steve Chapman / Washington Examiner)
• Public Pension Reform in Detroit: Many Options -- and All of Them Painful (John Gallagher / Detroit Free Press)
• 28 New Indictments in New York Disability Fraud Case (Jennifer Peltz / Associated Press)
• North Carolina Pension Fund Pays Massive Hidden Fees to Wall Street (Edward Siedle / Forbes)
• Pension Hypocrisy Blocks Chris Christie’s Comeback Trail (Mark Lagerkvist / New Jersey Watchdog)
• New Jersey's Abnormal Pension Costs (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Civic Federation Says Keep Most of Illinois' 'Temporary' Income Tax Hike (Thomas A. Corfman / Crain's Chicago Business)
• Pay of Nevada’s Public-School Employees, Versus Private Sector, Is 4th Highest in US (Steven Miller / Nevada Journal)
• Little Money Has Been Set Aside by Connecticut for Retiree Health Insurance Costs (Johanna Somers / The Day)
• Philadelphia's Pension Fund Can't Get a Break (Sean Collins Walsh / Daily News)
• Solving Jacksonville's Public Pension Crisis Requires Bitter Medicine (editorial - Florida Times-Union)
• Naples at Heart of Florida's Debate Over Local Police, Fire Pension Reform (Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster / Naples News)
• Society of Actuaries' Blue Ribbon Panel Recommends Better Reporting Standards for Public Pension Health (Ted Sickinger / Oregonian)
• 500,000 Ohio Teachers Won’t Be Asked to Make Additional Sacrifices to Help Their Pension Fund — for Now (Darrel Rowland / Columbus Dispatch)
• Ohio Police & Fire Fund Argues Pension Cuts Aren’t Necessary (Will Drabold / Columbus Dispatch)
• How the American People Would Fix Social Security (op-ed - Steven Kull / Christian Science Monitor)
• Rome Is Days Away From Bankruptcy (AFP / The Telegraph)
• Dutch Pension Design (Mariska van der Westen / Investment & Pensions Europe)

February 28, 2014

• New Study Compares CalSTRS' Pensions to Social Security Retirement Benefits (Ed Ring / California Public Policy Center)
• Why Is CalSTRS' Version of Corporate Skulduggery Tolerated? (Chris Reed / CalWatchdog)
• California's Public Pension Hole Goes Deeper (editorial - Santa Maria Times)
• What Felix Salmon Gets Wrong About Public Pensions (opinion - John Arnold / Reuters)
• Why Do City Employees of Sierra Madre, California Receive Better Benefits Than the City Manager of Beverly Hills? (Sierra Madre Tattler)
• The Costs of Public Safety in a City Whose Employees Are Among the Highest Paid in the State of California (Dave Waddell / Chico News & Reviews)
• Reality Check: The Only Hindrance to Chico's Police and Fire Departments Being Fully Staffed Is Their Own Greed (editorial - Chico News & Review)
• Ventura County Pension Reform: Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place (editorial - Ventura County Reporter)
• California Public Employee Unions' Campaign Spending a Waste of Millions (Eric Christen / U-T San Diego)
• Ratings Agency Fitch Downgrades Kern County Pension Bonds (James Burger / Bakersfield Californian)
• New New San Diego Police Chief Will Have to Retire in 4 Years ( Tony Perrry / Los Angeles Times)
• Pennsylvania's State Budget Must Include Fix for Pension Crisis (editorial - Williamsport Sun-Gazette)
• Pensions Squeeze New York’s State Capital (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• Analysis: The Politics of a Pension Crisis; New Jersey Gov. Christie’s Pride Turns Into Alarm (John Reitmeyer / The Record)
• Christie on New Jersey's Pensions: Right Message; Wrong Approach (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Detroit Bankruptcy Prods Cities to Target Public Employee Pensions (David Mildenberg / Bloomberg)
• Chicago Not Detroit, Bond Analysts Say (Hal Dardick / Chicago Tribune)
• Moody’s: Illinois FY 2012 Pension Shortfall Jumps to $187 Billion (Ted Dabrowski / Illinois Policy Institute)
• Louisiana Pension Legislation Focuses on Cost-Of-Living Increases, Alternative Debt Reduction Methods (Lauren McGaughy / Times Picayune )
• Society of Actuaries Panel Warns Against Use of Pension Obligation Bonds (Naomi Jagoda / The Bond Buyer)
• READ OR DOWNLOAD: Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Public Pension Plan Funding (Society of Actuaries)
• GRAPHIC: The Crisis in Pensions and Retirement Plans (Accounting Degree Review)

February 27, 2014

• A Full Explanation Is Required From the CEO of CalSTRS (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Pension Reform Comes to Ventura County, California (Ed Ring / UnionWatch)
• CalPERS Allowed to Appeal San Bernardino Bankruptcy Ruling (Karen Gullo and Steven Church / Bloomberg)
• San Jose and Other California Cities Can Look Toward 'Service Insolvency' (Steven Greenhut / Public Sector Inc.)
• CalPERS Chief Investment Officer Dies (Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee)
• Watch as Pensions, Health Care, Debt Gobble Up New Jersey's Taxes (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• The Hidden Perils in Illinois Local Police and Fire Pension Plans (James T. Palermo / WirePoints)
• How Illinois Legislators Can Rescue Pensions for Workers at Chicago's City Hall and Public Schools (editorial - Chicago Tribune)

February 26, 2014

• California Pension Reform or Bust (Carson Bruno / Hoover Institution)
• Judge Confirms the 'California Rule’: Public Employee Pensions Can Only Go Up (Chris Reed / CalWatchdog)
• No One Is Safe From the Public Pension Disaster (blog - Walter Russell Mead / The American Interest)
• Democrats Mostly Silent on University of California Strike Amid Declining Union Approval (John Hrabe / CalWatchdog)
• Everywhere You Look, a California Fire District Is in Trouble (column - Tom Barnidge / Contra Costa Times)
• In San Jose, California Generous Pensions for City's Public Employees Come at the Expense of Nearly All Else (Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post)
• LIVE WEBCAST TODAY at 10 AM ET of Public Pension Reform Event; Keynote by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed (Brookings Institution)
• Brookings Institution Offers Middle Ground in Public Pension Reform Debate (Hazel Bradford / Pensions & Investments)
• Think Tank Holds Up Rhode Island Pension Overhaul as Model for Other States (Tom Mooney / Providence Journal)
• Rhode Island Pensions Are Still Perilously Underfunded (op-ed - Ernest Almonte / Providence Journal)
• Detroit Police Feel the Pain of City's Money Woes (Sharon Cohen / Associated Press)
• After Christie Reforms, New Jersey Pension Mess Still Animating Debate (Brian Donohue / Star-Ledger)
• New Pension Crisis Is Here, Says New Jersey Governor, Citing a $52 Billion Unfunded Liability (editorial - South Jersey Times)
• VIDEO: Animated Explanation of New Jersey's Pension Mess (Star-Ledger)
• 401(k), 'Cash Balance' Plans Eyed for Florida Pension Reform (Matt Dixon / Florida Times-Union)
• Standard & Poor’s Reaffirms 'Negative Outlook’ for Chicago Bonds (Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun-Times)
• Illinois Pension Problems a Pandemic (Julian Crews / WGN-TV)
• Nevada's Public Employee Pension Records Should Be Fully Accessible (editorial - Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Chattanooga City Council Approves Pension Reform Legislation (David Morton / Nooga.com)
• Pennsylvania's Pension Pollyannas (editorial - Intelligencer Journal)
• Twinkies Bankruptcy Exposes Peril to Some US Corporate Pension Plans (Lorraine Woellert / Bloomberg)

February 25, 2014

• Public Pension Tabs Multiply as States Defer Costs and Hard Choices (Rick Lyman and Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• More Retired New York Firefighters and Cops Arrested in Pension Fraud Probe (Victoria Cavaliere / Reuters)
• CalPERS Comes Knocking — Again (editorial - Press-Democrat)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: States and Cities Are Being Crushed by Unfunded Pensions (Nick Anderson / Press-Democrat)
• Hoover Institution Issues Report on California Public Pensions Solutions (Carson Bruno / Fox & Hounds)
• The Fall of Pacific Grove – Conclusion: The 'California Rule' Cannot Stand (John Moore / UnionWatch)
• Will Los Angeles Have a Pension Tax? (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• Public Unions Could Learn From Private Business (column - Dick Spotswood / Marin Independent Journal)
• Number of New Jersey Retired Public Employees With Pensions of at Least $100,000 Climbs 75% in 3 Years (Jeff Goldman / Star-Ledger)
• 1,731 Retired New Jersey Employees Collect $100,000 a Year or More From State Pensions (Mark Lagerkvist / New Jersey Watchdog)
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Calls for New Round of Pension Reforms (Hilary Russ / Reuters)
• The Harsh Reality of Rhode Island's Pension and OPEB Crisis (Michael Riley / GoLocalProv)

February 24, 2014

• Implications for California as Detroit Seeks to Slash Public Pensions by Up to 34% (Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee)
• Back to the (Bankruptcy) Drawing Board for California Towns? (Adam Shapiro / Fox Business)
• Huge CalSTRS Funding Hole Grew for 10 Years (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• The Truth About Public Pension Reform (opinion - John Arnold / Reuters)
• Public-Employee Pensions and the 'California Rule' (Sasha Volokh / Washington Post)
• California School Superintendent Got Low-Interest Loan From District to Buy $910,000 Home Despite Bankruptcy (Rebecca Kimitch /Los Angeles Daily News)
• University of California Lost Millions on Interest-Rate Bets (Melody Petersen / Orange County Register)
• Hoover Institution Conference Reaches Consensus on Some Areas of California Pension Reform (John Seiler / CalWatchdog)
• READ: 'California Public Pension Solutions: Post-Conference Report' (pdf - Hoover Institution)
• Society of Actuaries' Blue-Ribbon Panel Seeks Greater Disclosures on Pension Funds' Health (Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• READ: 'Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Public Pension Plan Funding' (pdf - Society of Actuaries)
• Detroit Pension Funds Could See Benefit Cuts of Up to 34% as Part of Bankruptcy Agreement (Kevin Olsen / Pensions & Investments)
• Going Nuclear in Detroit (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Pressured to Pare Down $50 Billion Pension Debt (Natasha Lindstrom / The Intelligencer)
• Pension Task Force Takes Up Big Funding Questions for Jacksonville (David Bauerlein / Florida Times-Union)
• Statewide Retirement Plan for Private Sector Proposed in Connecticut (James Comtois / Pensions & Investments)
• Puerto Rico's Top Court Backs Judicial Pension Reform (Reuters)

February 21, 2014

• California's Teacher Pension Hole Grows Deeper by $1 Million Every Hour (editorial - U-T San Diego)
• No Easy Fix for California's Teacher Pension Crisis (Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times)
• California Sheriff Who Says His $276,000 Pension Is Not Enough Fuels Push for Reform (William La Jeunesse and Lee Ross / Fox News)
• PensionTsunami.com Comes to Sierra Madre, California (The Sierra Madre Tattler)
• San Bernardino’s Fresh Start (editorial - Press-Enterprise)
• Moody's Warns Bankrupt California Cities They Must Cut Pension Debts (column - Dan Walters / San Luis Obispo Tribune)
• Moody's Says Bankrupt California Cities Will Struggle With Pension Costs (James Nash / Bloomberg)
• Moody's Says Stockton, San Bernardino May Share Vallejo's Fate (Tonya Chin / The Bond Buyer)
• Reckless Unions: Pension Reform Could Save Cities on the Brink of Bankruptcy (Richard A. Epstein / Defining Ideas)
• Can Cities Legally Plug Pension Holes? (video - Richard Epstein / Wall Street Journal)
• San Jose Has Cleared a Path Toward Reform That Other California Cities May Use to Avoid Fiscal Ruin (Adam Summers / Reason Foundation)
• READ THE STUDY: 'Pension Reform Case Study: San Jose' (pdf - Adam Summers / Reason Foundation)
• Union, Los Angeles County Retirement Deal Could Save Up to $840 Million Over Next 30 Years (Christina Villacorte / Los Angeles Daily News)
• Los Angeles Pension Systems Say No Impact From CalPERS Action (Rick Orlov / Los Angeles Daily News)
• Detroit Expects to File Debt Adjustment Plan Today (Reuters)
• Do Detroit's Pension Funds Need Reform? (Anthony Randazzo / Reason Foundation)
• Our Public Pension Problem (video - Paul Jacob / Common Sense)
• American Academy of Actuaries Makes Recommendations for Public Pension Funding Policies (Kevin McGuinness / PlanSponsor)
• Court’s Ruling on Pension COLAs Could Cost Arizona Taxpayers Millions (Craig Harris / Arizona Republic)
• Arizona Pension Case Could Chart Course for Illinois (Brian Mackey/ WUIS NPR)
• Why Illinoisans Should Care About This Arizona Pension Ruling (Steven R. Strahler / Crain's Chicago Business)
• Rhode Island Scales Back Its Pension Reforms (editorial - The Economist)
• Chattanooga, Tennessee's Fire and Police Pension Fund Board Votes Unanimously to Proceed With Pension Reform (Hollie Webb / The Chattanoogan)
• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Have Appetite for Pension Reform, But Menu Options Vary (Andrew Staub / PA Independent)
• Pension Tension: How States and Cities Are Coping (blog - Peter Hayes / Black Rock)
• PENSION PULSE: Will Deflation Expose Naked Swimmers? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 20, 2014

• California Cities Strained By Retired Public Employees' Health Care Costs (James Nash and Edvard Pettersson / Bloomberg)
• A Tale of Two Pension Reports (Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence)
• Pension Funds and the 'Asset' Economy (Ed Ring / UnionWatch)
• CalSTRS Needs Almost $1 Billion in 2015 to Fix California Teachers Pensions (John Myers / ABC Sacramento)
• California's Teachers and School Districts Agree More Funding Is Needed for CalSTRS (Bob Moffitt / Capital Public Radio)
• CalPERS Asks for More Cash, CalSTRS Solvency in Question (with audio - Scott Detrow / The California Report)
• CalPERS Higher Pension Costs Could Be Heavy Burden for San Gabriel Valley Cities (Mike Sprague / Whittier Daily News)
• CalPERS Adopts New Demographic Assumptions (PlanSponsor)
• CalPERS' Rate Increases Were Expected, But Not Welcomed (Ryan Hagen / San Bernardino Sun)
• South Bay Cities Preparing for Larger Contributions to CalPERS (Fenit Nirappil / Torrance Daily Breeze)
• PENSION PULSE: CalPERS Strikes Fear Into PE Firms? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)
• New Jersey’s Debt Reaches Record $40.4 Billion in 2013 (Elise Young / Bloomberg)
• Detroit Reaches New Deal to Settle Pension Debt (Robert Snell and Chad Livengood / Detroit News)
• Long Road Ahead for Rhode Island Pension Deal (Daniel Kittredge / Cranston Herald)
• Trouble Looms for Florida's State Pension Reform Proposal (Brandon Larrabee / NorthEscambia.com)
• Alaska Municipal League Supports Pension Infusion Plan to Reduce Fund's $12 Billion Shortfall (Casey Kelly / KTOO Radio)

February 19, 2014

• CalPERS Decides to Speed Up Rate Increases for State, But Not for Local Governments (Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee)
• California Pension Rate Hikes Loom After CalPERS Vote (Tim Reid / Reuters)
• CalPERS Boosts Rates as Retirees Live Longer (Mark Melnicoe / Bloomberg)
• IPO Buy Involved Company on Internal Restricted List, CalPERS Says (Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Memo to California Legislature: No Time for Half Measures on CalSTRS (op-ed - David Crane / Sacramento Bee)
• CalSTRS Financial Reforms Could Hit Orange County School Districts Hard (Jessica Terrell / Orange County Register) $$
• CalSTRS Blew $44 Million on the 8 Washington Project (Joe Eskenazi / San Francisco Weekly)
• The Fall of Pacific Grove – Part 7 of 7: The Cover-Up by the City After the Hidden Actuarial Report Surfaced in 2009 (John Moore / UnionWatch)
• The Looting of Detroit’s Public Pensions (Andrew G. Biggs / The American)
• The Rhode Island Pension Lawsuit Settlement and Shifty Actuarials (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• The State of New Jersey Pensions (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Why Jacksonville Must Pursue Major Pension Reform (op-ed - Tom Majdanics / Florida Times-Union)
• Kansas Public Retirees Rally for Pension COLA (Emporia Gazette)
• PBS Punts on the Public Pension Crisis (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• How Scary Is an Older America? Americans Aren't Sweating It (column - Mark Miller / Reuters)
• PENSION PULSE: Top Funds Activity During Q4 2013 (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 18, 2014

• California Taxpayers Ultimately Will Pick Up the Tab for Public Employee Pensions (editorial - Sacramento Bee)
• Public Employee Unions Push Back on Pension Reforms, But What Will Courts Say? (column - Lou Cannon / Noozhawk)
• Labor’s Endorsement: The Kiss of Death? (blog - Michael Fitzgerald / eSanJoaquin.com)
• Are California's Public Employee Unions Toxic to Their Candidates? (column - Willie Brown / San Francisco Chonicle)
• Nine Charter Schools Fail New CalPERS Entry Test (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• Getting CalPERS’ Number (blog - Michael Fitzgerald / eSanJoaquin.com)
• Former Merced County Sheriff Will Receive More Money During Retirement Than He Did While Employed (Ramona Giwargis / Merced Sun-Star)
• The Fall of Pacific Grove – Part 6 of 7: Privately Owned Real Property Are the Only Assets to Pay for Pensions (John Moore / UnionWatch)
• An Unnecessary $7 Billion Tax to Repair Los Angeles' Streets and Sidewalks (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• Chicago Public Employee Unions Call for Tax Hikes Instead of Pension Cuts (Hal Dardick / Chicago Tribune)
• Chicago Public Employee Unions Oppose Pension Reform Cuts (with video - Charles Thomas / ABC Chicago)
• Winners and Losers in Rhode Island's Pension Reform Settlement (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• Rhode Island Pension Settlement Sets Discouraging Precedent (Steve Eide / Public Sector Inc.)
• Rhode Island Pension Reform Mollified in New Deal (Sage Um / aiCIO)
• Arizona Public Safety Retirement System Walking a Fine Line on Pension 'Spiking’ Lawsuits (Craig Harris / Arizona Republic)
• The Reforms That Public Pensions Really Need (Mark Funkhouser / Governing)
• PENSION PULSE: Alberta's Push to Cut Pension Costs? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 17, 2014

• Worker-Run Pension Boards Like CalPERS Raise Call for Reform (Fenit Nirappil / NBC San Diego)
• Contra Costa County Fire District Report Lacks Promised Road Map Out of Financial Crisis (column - Daniel Borenstein / Contra Costa Times)
• Marin County Supervisors Can't Dodge Pension Debate (editorial - Marin Independent Journal)
• Marin County Retirees Get 2% Raise Costing $2 Million (Nels Johnson / Marin Independent Journal)
• Marin County Pension Chief on Tobacco Flap: Supervisors Have No Say in Investments (Nels Johnson / Marin Independent Journal)
• San Rafael, California Requires City Manager to Pay Employee Share of Pension, But Gives Her a Pay Increase (Megan Hansen / Marin Independent Journal)
• Court Says Orange County Can Charge Retirees More for Their Health Care (Mike Reicher / Orange County Register) $$
• Should Orange County Sheriff's Deputies Be Paid for Putting on Their Pants? (Mike Reicher / Orange County Register) $$
• Rhode Island Reaches Pension Deal to Secure Billions in Savings (Tim McLaughlin / Reuters)
• Rhode Island Strikes Pension Settlement (Paul Burton / The Bond Buyer)
• Raimondo, Taxpayers Win in Rhode Island Pension Settlement (Russell J. Moore / GoLocalProv)
• Experts React to Rhode Island Pension Reform Agreement (GoLocalProv)
• READ: The Rhode Island Pension Settlement Proposal
• System’s Broken When a Killer Gets a Pension From the City of Providence (column - Mark Patinkin / Providence Journal)
• Chicago Teachers Union Report Says Pension Overhaul Would Hurt City’s Economy, Retirees (Becky Schlikerman / Chicago Sun-Times)
• Time to See Whether Detroit's Big Bet on Shedding Its Debt Pays Off (column - Stephen Henderson / Detroit Free Press)
• With Pay Frozen, Maine Troopers Tell Lawmakers They Rely on Road Kill to Feed Families, Can’t Afford Heating Oil (Scott Thistle / Bangor Daily News)
• Pennsylvania Governor Scales Back Plan to Pare Public Pensions (Marc Levy / Indiana Gazette)
• Pension Reform Must Be Priority for Pennsylvania (editorial - Pottstown Mercury)
• Oklahoma Pension Reform Matters (op-ed - Rep. Randy McDaniel / Tulsa World)
• Rally Planned to Oppose Oklahoma Pension Reform Plan (ABC Tulsa)
• Companies Bracing for 1-2 Retirement Punch (Hazel Bradford / Pensions & Investments)
• PENSION PULSE: The Economics of Love and Inequality? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 14, 2014

• BREAKING: Rhode Island Pension Settlement Would Add $232 Million to Shortfall (video - Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV)
• How Much Do CalPERS Retirees Really Make? (Ed Ring / California Public Policy Center)
• California Appeals Court Rules City of San Diego Is Within Its Rights to Reduce Retiree Health Benefits (Andy Cohen / San Diego Free Press)
• Comparing Costs: Crony Capitalism vs. Public Pensions (Andrew Biggs / California Public Policy Center)
• Ventura County Public Employees Intimidate Pension Reform Initiative Signature Gatherers (Anna Bitong / Moorpark Acorn)
• Scariest Three Words in California: 'Governor’ Antonio Villaraigosa (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• Why Is Sierra Madre's Employee Benefits Report AWOL? (The Sierra Madre Tattler)
• City of Sierra Madre: Why the 7.9% CalPERS Investment Was All Wrong (The Sierra Madre Tattler)
• Local Pension Costs Headed Still Higher in California (blog - Bruce Ross / Redding Record Searchlight)
• A Showdown Over California Pension Reform (letter - Orange County Register)
• Graphic Shows Pension Reform Ideas (blog - John Seiler / CalWatchdog)
• City of San Diego Settles Sergeant's Unemployment/Pension Case (Jeff McDonald / U-T San Diego)
• Nevada Public Employee Pensions Posted on TransparentNevada Website (Ed Vogel / Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Nevada Think Tank Posts Personal Pension Info of Public Employees (Dan Berman / BenefitsPro)
• Cradle-To-Grave Debt Load Leaves No Chicagoan Unburdened (Tim Jones / Bloomberg)
• Going Wobbly on Pension Reform in Rhode Island? (column - Allysia Finley / Wall Street Journal) $$
• Oklahoma Pension Panel OKs Switch to Defined Contribution Plan (Paula Aven Gladych / BenefitsPro)
• PENSION PULSE: CPPIB Living High on the Hogg? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 13, 2014

• CalPERS Poised to Raise Rates, But Not on Gov. Brown’s Timetable (Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee)
• California Lawmakers Pledge CalSTRS Fix in 2014 (video - John Myers / KXTV Sacramento)
• Pension Reform vs. the 'California Rule’ (Chad Aldeman / Education Next)
• The California Rule for Public Pensions: Illegal or Just Knuckleheaded? (Steve Eide / Public Sector Inc.)
• GOP Win in San Diego Mayor's Race Is Good News for California Pension Reform (column - Steven Greenhut / U-T San Diego)
• Small California School District, Big Compensation (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Resolving One Debate on Public Employee Pay (blog - Andrew Biggs / American Enterprise Institute)
• Hair-Raising Chicago Pension Charts…. (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• No Rhode Island Pension Settlement Yet; Trial Set for Sept. 15 (Ted Nesi, Tim White and Sean Daly / WPRI-TV)
• Paradise Valley, Arizona Targets Rising Police Pension Costs (Philip Haldiman / The Republic)
• Panel OKs Tighter Rules Over Arizona's Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (Craig Harris / The Republic)
• PENSION PULSE: Hedge Fund Kings of 2013? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 12, 2014

• The California Democrat Fighting Public Employee Unions to Save Taxpayers Money (Adam Shapiro / Fox Business)
• VIDEO: Interview with Chuck Reed -- The Democratic Mayor Fighting California’s Public Employee Unions (Fox Business)
• How Does Social Security Compare to California's Pensions for Police and Firefighters? (Ed Ring / UnionWatch)
• Time to Cap California's Generous Public Employee Pensions (op-ed - Mark Bucher / Orange County Register)
• Spirited Marin County Supervisors' Session on California Pension Reform Draws Crowd (Nels Johnson / Marin Independent Journal)
• Sacramento Bee's California State Worker Pay Database Updated With 2013 Figures (Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Chicago-Area Pension Shortfalls Grow Again (Yvette Shields / The Bond Buyer)
• READ THE REPORT: Illinois Public Retirement Systems - January 2014 (pdf - Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability)
• Rhode Island Pension Press Conference Abruptly Canceled (Tim White / WPRI-TV)
• Poll Finds 46% of Democratic Primary Voters Back Rhode Island Pension Reform Law (Ted Nesi and Tim White / WPRI-TV)
• What’s at Stake in Rhode Island Pension Settlement Proposal (David Klepper and Steve Nielsen / WPRI-TV)
• Cranston Mayor Fung Calls for Immediate Release of Details on Rhode Island Pension Settlement (Ian Donnis / Rhode Island Public Radio)
• Cost of Defending, Mediating Rhode Island Pension Overhaul Tops $532,000 (Katherine Gregg / Providence Journal)
• New Jersey Outlook Fails to Improve as Pension Hit Looms (Elise Young and Michelle Kaske / Bloomberg)
• Detroit's Bankruptcy Pension Deal Could Dim Golden Years (Joel Kurth / Detroit News)
• Florida: Pension Reform Is Back, and So Is the Opposition (blog - Miami Herald)
• Tennessee Health Care Provider Freezes Defined Benefit Plan; Will Switch Employees to Defined Contribution Plan (Rebecca Moore / PlanSponsor)
• Defined Contribution Plans Are an Important Part of the US Retirement System, Report Says (Kevin McGuinness / PlanSponsor)
• PENSION PULSE: Cheers to Poorer UK State Pensions? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 11, 2014

• BREAKING: Proposed Rhode Island Pension Settlement Set to Be Unveiled Tomorrow (Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV)
• California Legislature Wakes Up to Pension Problem (Jon Coupal / Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association)
• The Joke May Be on California's Taxpayers (editorial - Santa Maria Times)
• Can California's Public Employee Pensions Be Reformed? (Wayne Lusvardi / CalWatchdog)
• The Fall of Pacific Grove – Part 5 of 7: Privately Owned Real Property Are the Only Assets to Pay for Pensions (John Moore / UnionWatch)
• Los Angeles Fire Department’s Budget Buster: Firefighters’ $218,000 Compensation Package ( Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• Public Employee Unions Rally Against Pension Measure as Voter Drive Starts (Kathleen Wilson / Ventura County Star) $$
• Reasons to Be Wary of State-Run Retirement Plans (Jeffrey Brown / Forbes)
• Open Government Groups, Media and Workers Rally for Pension Disclosure in Rhode Island, California and North Carolina (column - Ted Siedle / Forbes)
• Do We Really Want Public Pension Funds to Become Activist Investors? (James O’Toole / strategy+business)
• US Is Going Bankrupt One City at a Time (op-ed - Alan Caruba / Eurasia Review)
• After Setbacks, Municipal Bond Sector Is Looking Up (Conrad De Aenille / New York Times)
• Puerto Rico 'Strongly Disagrees’ With Moody’s Junk Downgrade (Michael Aneiro /barron'S)
• Aging America Heading for Disaster (Kyle Smith / New York Post)
• PENSION PULSE: Hedge Fund Kings of 2013? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 10, 2014

• San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed Sues California Attorney General Over Summary of Pension Reform Initiative (column - Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Hundreds of California Public Employees Are Paid Over $400,000 Per Year (Mark Bucher / Forbes)
• California Governor Brown's Conflicting Approaches to the Nation's Two Largest Pension Systems (column - Daniel Borenstein / Contra Costa Times)
• The Big Casino: California Cities Paying Pension Debt With Bonds (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• Longevity Hurting CalPERS (blog - John Seiler / CalWatchdog)
• Let's Be Honest About Marin County's Public Pension Debate (op-ed - Jody Morales / Marin Independent Journal)
• Costa Mesa, California Makes Move to Lower Its Pension Debt (Sonali Kohli / Orange County Register)
• 'Disconcerting' Tricks Pad Police, Firefighter Overtime Perk (Teri Sforza / Orange County Register) $$
• Are Public-Sector Employees 'Overpaid'? (Sasha Volokh / Washington Post)
• Cities in Financial Straits Weigh Bankruptcy (PBS Newshour)
• Illinois' Pension Problem: How Big Is It, Really? (Alex Keefe / WBEZ Radio)
• Illinois Senate President Proposes Solution for Fixing Chicago's Looming Teacher Pension Crisis (op-ed - John Cullerton / Chicago Tribune)
• Cranston, Rhode Island's Mayor Urges Legislature to Reject Any Proposal That 'Undermines’ Savings From Pension Overhaul (Katherine Gregg / Providenc
• Cranston, Rhode Island’s Pension Overhaul Will Save City Millions, But Court Challenge Remains (Gregory Smith / Providence Journal)
• Puerto Rico Bondholders Await Contract Impairment Ruling in Teacher Pension Reform Litigation (National Law Review)
• PENSION PULSE: Can U.S. Pensions Be Resurrected? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 7, 2014

• New Efforts to Spotlight California Public Employee Pay and Pensions (Steven Greenhut / U-T San Diego)
• Public Employee Compensation 'Is Breaking Our Cities and Counties' (audio - Steve Stanek / Heartland Institute)
• Can We Fix the 'California Rule' for Public Employee Pensions? (Sasha Volokh / Washington Post)
• The Public’s Changing Views of Public Employee Unions (Daniel DiSalvo / Public Sector Inc.)
• Do More on California's Pensions, Governor (editorial - San Francisco Chronicle)
• The Case for a Defined Contribution Pension System in California (Henry Dubroff / Pacific Coast Business Times)
• San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed Makes Case for Controversial California Pension Reform Plan (audio - Hana Baba / NPR San Francisco)
• Mayor Reed Files Lawsuit Over Wording of California Pension Reform Initiative (Jennifer Wadsworth / San Jose Inside)
• Gov. Brown Wants CalPERS Action Now on Rising Pension Costs (Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio)
• Gov. Brown Urges CalPERS to Include Life Spans in Contribution Rates (California Healthline)
• West Covina City Council Keeps Its Public Retirement Benefits (Jason Henry / San Gabriel Valley Tribune)
• California Schools Asked to Cough Up Pay Data for All Employees (Teri Sforza and Jessica Terrell / Orange County Register) $$
• Bankrupt San Bernardino, California Votes Pro-Union Politicians Out of Office (Mike Shedlock / Townhall)
• New Transparency Website Reveals True Costs of Pay and Pensions for California’s Public Employees (Ed Ring / Fox & Hounds)
• Controversy in Detroit: What’s a Fair Settlement of Bondholder and Pension Obligation Claims? (Mike Shedlock / UnionWatch)
• Massachusetts Think Tank Study Calls for MBTA Employees to Be Transferred to State Pension System (press release - Pioneer Institute)
• Report Urges State of Massachusetts to Fire MBTA’s Pension Fund Directors (Beth Healy / Boston Globe)
• Time for Municipal Pension Reform in Florida (editorial - Historic City News)
• PENSION PULSE: 2013s Best Hedge Fund? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 6, 2014

• Gov. Jerry Brown Says Longer-Living State Workers Will Drive California's Pension Costs Up $1.2 Billion a Year (David Siders / Sacramento Bee)
• READ Jerry Brown’s Letter Calling for CalPERS to Immediately Raise Employer Contribution Rates (Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Faster Rate Hikes Sought for Both CalPERS and CalSTRS (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• California Pension Reform Stalls, But Opinion Has Shifted (Steven Greenhut / Public Sector Inc.)
• Voters in Bankrupt San Bernardino, California Sweep Pro-Union Old Guard From Power (Tim Reid / Reuters)
• California Public Employees' Growing $100,000 Pension Club Now Has More Than 31,000 Members (editorial - Orange County Register) $$
• California Group Launches Searchable Database of Public Salaries; Includes Names of Employees, Pensioners (PublicCEO)
• State Controller Seeks Pay Data From All California Public Schools (Jeff Gottlieb / Los Angeles Times)
• Retired Illinois Public Employees' '13th Check' Bonuses Cost Taxpayers Millions (Jake Griffin / Daily Herald)
• Chicago City Council OKs Going $1.9 Billion Deeper Into Debt (Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun-Times)
• Illinois Union Pension 'Victims’ Double Their Money in Four Years (Ben Yount / Illinois Watchdog)
• New Jersey Judge Orders Release of Lt. Gov. Guadagno Pension Probe Records (Mark Lagerkvist / New Jersey Watchdog)
• New PBGC Premium Date Could Help Funding (Rebecca Moore / PlanSponsor)
• S&P Lowers Puerto Rico Debt to Junk Status (Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• PENSION PULSE: Caisse Blowing Another $500 Million in the Wind? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 5, 2014

• New Transparency Website Containing Pay and Pension Data Shows True Cost of Unionized Government in California (Ed Ring / UnionWatch)
• The 'California Rule' for Public Employee Pensions: Is It Good Constitutional Law? (Sasha Volokh / Washington Post)
• Crony Capitalism vs. Public Pensions (Andrew G. Biggs / The American)
• Interview With Costa Mesa, California Mayor Jim Righeimer on the Battle Over Police Pensions (video - Adam Shapiro / Fox Business)
• Nearly 200 California Lifeguards Made More Than $100,000 in Taxpayer Money in One Year, Report Says (Patrick Howley / Daily Caller)
• California Highway Patrol Officers Are Retiring in Greater Numbers Than CalPERS Had Projected (column - Daniel Borenstein / Los Angeles Daily News)
• Latest California Pension Fund Scandal: Why You Would Be Nuts to Believe CalPERS (Chris Reed / CalWatchdog)
• Detroit Pension Borrowings: What a Tangled Web…. (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• Will Other Cities Follow Detroit? The Answer Depends on Much More Than Pensions (Steve Eide / Public Sector Inc.)
• Rock Falls, Illinois Preparing for Pension Reforms (Pam Eggemeier / Sauk Valley Media)
• Tennessee Bill May Make Cities Boost Pension Payments (Chas Sisk / The Tennessean)
• Hungary's Pension Fund Almost Drained (MTI/ Politics.hu)
• Polish Government Seizes $51 Billion of Privately Run Pension Funds (Norma Cohen and Jan Cienski / Financial Times)
• PENSION PULSE: Wynne Hedging Her Bets on New Pension? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

February 4, 2014

• California Government Reform Group Launches Searchable Online Public Employee Pension Database (column - Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Nonpartisan California Think Tank Launches Searchable Database of Public Employee Pensions (Erica Felci / Desert Sun)
• VISIT THE NEW WEBSITE: TransparentCalifornia.com (California Public Policy Center)
• Pension Disaster: Californians Understand the Looming Crisis (op-ed - Mark Bucher / Mercury News)
• The Fall of Pacific Grove – Part 5 of 7: Anti-Pension Reform Mayor Claims to Favor Reed Pension Reform (John Moore / Union Watch)
• Detroit Ruling on Bankruptcy Lifts Public Employee Pension Protections (Monica Davey, Bill Vlasic and Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• How California Courts Overprotect Public-Employee Pensions (Sasha Volokh / Washington Post)
• WHITE PAPER: Overprotecting Public Employee Pensions: The Contract Clause and the California Rule (Alexander Volokh / Federalist Society)
• How Much Do California’s State, City and County Workers Really Make? (Ed Ring / California Public Policy Center)
• Democrats Feud Over California Pension Reform Measure (Tim Reid / Reuters)
• California Needs a State Constitutional Amendment to Remove Public Employee Pensions From Their Present Untouchable Status (letter - Press Democrat)
• California Thinks It Leads the Nation (Steven Greenhut / Watchdog.org)
• Liberals vs. Pension Reform in California (Allysia Finley / Wall Street Journal) $$
• Los Angeles Budget Madness: The Unilateral Phase Out of the Gross Receipts Business Tax (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• Fund California Teachers’ Pensions With Bullet Train Money (letter - Daily Bulletin)
• Chicago Teachers Union President Vows to Fight Cuts to Pensions (Alex Keefe / WBEZ Radio)
• Bills Aim to Shine Light on Kentucky's Public Pensions (John Cheves / Lexington Herald-Leader)
• New Jersey's Pension Money Pit (column - Dave Neese / The Trentonian)
• Pennsylvania's School Employee Pension System Is Broken and Needs Immediate Reform (Natalya Bucuy / Montgomery News)
• Kentucky Pension Reform Leaves Out Teachers (editorial - Courier-Journal)
• Canada's Public Employee Unions Live in Fantasy Land About Pensions (Mark Milke / Beacon News)

February 3, 2014

• CalPERS Underestimated How Many California Highway Patrol Officers Would Take Big Pensions (column - Daniel Borenstein / Contra Costa Times)
• Sacramento Saddled With More Than $500 Million in Debt From Unfunded Retiree Health Benefits (Ryan Lillis / Sacramento Bee)
• Union-Friendly Attorney General Succeeds in Hobbling California Pension Reform (Steven Greenhut / Public Sector Inc.)
• California Attorney General’s Inaccurate Pension Initiative Ballot Summary Must Be Corrected (San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed / Fox & Hounds)
• California's State-Run Private-Sector Retirement Plan Gets Donors (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• Public Employee Union Foes and Defenders (Hunter Lewis / UnionWatch)
• California Legislators Trying Again for Universal Preschool Despite Hundreds of Billions in Unfunded Liabilities (op-ed - Lisa Snell / OC Register)
• Pension Hotspots: Phoenix, Arizona and Ventura County, California (Josh Altic / Ballot News)
• First Legislative Hearing on CalsSTRS’ Debt Scheduled for Feb 19 (PensionTsunami.com)
• Task Force Urges Reforms in State Financial Reporting (Michael Cohn / Accounting Today)
• Did Illinois Public Employee Unions Tacitly OK Pension Holidays? (David Giuliani / Sauk Valley Media)
• Former Elected Officials Who Only Worked Part Time Receiving Lifetime Illinois Pensionss (The Republic)
• Illinois Part-Time Elected Officials Can't Undo Pensions (Jake Griffin / Daily Herald)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: Illinois Pension Reform Out on a Limb (Roger Schillerstrom / Crain's Chicago Business)
• New York City Comptroller Will Widen Ban on Pension Fund Placement Agents (Martin Z. Braun / Bloomberg)
• Detroit Debt Proposal Favors Pension Funds (Matthew Dolan / Wall Street Journal) $$
• Detroit Bondholders About to Be GM'd in Favor of Pensioners (blog -Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge)
• Detroit's Debt Restructuring Plan 'Complicated' (Corey Williams / Associated Press)
• How Mediation Has Put Detroit Bankruptcy on the Road to Resolution (Tresa Baldas, Matt Helms and Alisa Priddle / Detroit Free Press)
• Can Detroit Pension Board Survive the Fallout of Its Predecessor? (Brian Dickerson / Detroit Free Press)
• Maryland State Treasurer Opposes Governor’s $100 Million Cut in State's Pension Contribution (Len Lazarick / Baltimore Post-Examiner)
• Pensions for Nevada Public Employees Who Aren’t Retired (column - Glenn Cook / Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Connecticut's Governor Extends Tax Relief to Retired Teachers, Towns, Consumers (Christine Stuart / CT News Junkie)
• MBTA Retirement Board Split on Airing Records (Beth Healy / Boston Globe)

January 31, 2014

• California Pension Reform Measure Likely Off for 2014 Ballot (Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• California Pension Reformers Sue Over Ballot Summary (Steven Greenut / U-T San Diego)
• California Pension Reform Initiative Proponents to File Legal Challenge Against Attorney General’s Inaccurate Ballot Summary (pdf - press release)
• Mayor Chuck Reed's California Pension Reform Initiative Stalls; Switch to 401(k) Favored in Poll (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• San Jose Mayor's Pension Reform Initiative May Not Make California's November Ballot (Mark Emmons / San Jose Mercury News)
• Battle Over California Pension Reform May Be Postponed (Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times)
• California Pension Reform Initiative Backed by San Bernardino's Mayor May Not Make November Ballot (Mark Emmons / San Bernardino Sun)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: Breaking Through California's 'Wall of Debt' (Lisa Benson / Orange County Register)
• California Assembly Speaker Tackles Teachers' Pension Fund Shortfall (audio - Rachael Myrow / KQED Radio)
• Getting Serious About Funding California Teachers’ Pensions (editorial - San Bernardino Sun)
• California Assembly Speaker Vows to Tackle Challenge of Teacher Pensions This Year (John Fensterwald / EdSource)
• Public Employee Union Foes and Defenders (Hunter Lewis / UnionWatch)
• GASB Issues Guide for New Pension Standards (Rebecca Moore / PlanSponsor)
• GASB Issues Guidance for Implementing Pension Standards (press release - Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
• Rhode Island: Looking at Your Stake in Your Town's Debt (with video - Tim White / WPRI-TV)
• Rhode Island: Town by Town Pension Debt Map (WPRI-TV)
• New York City Comptroller Eyes Reforms for Pension Fund Management (Robert Steyer / Pensions & Investments)
• Florida Lawmakers to Revisit Pension Reform During 2014 Session (with audio - Sascha Cordner / WFSU Radio)
• Conflict Flares Over Jacksonville's Pension Issues (David Bauerlein / Florida Times-Union)
• Arizona Pension Fund CIO Is Highest Paid of 38,000 State Employees (Emily Gersema / East Valley News Net)
• Arizona Pension Reform (editorial - Casa Grande Dispatch)
• Universal Retirement Legislation Submitted by US Senator Harkin (Hazel Bradford / Pensions & Investments)
• PENSION PULSE: Obama's MyRA Nest Egg? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 30, 2014

• California Assembly Democrats Push to Shore Up CalSTRS (Jeremy B. White / Sacramento Bee)
• Assembly Speaker Calls for New Effort on Teacher Pensions (Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times)
• California Lawmaker Set to Propose Fix for Teacher Pension Gap (Michael B. Marois and Mark Melnicoe / Bloomberg)
• Placentia, California: Facing Fiscal Disaster, City Vows It Will Not Go Bankrupt (Teri Sforza / Orange County Register) $$
• City Must Get to Bottom of Sacramento Firefighter Overtime Costs (editorial - Sacramento Bee)
• Illinois Treasurer Sees Union Fight Ahead on Pension Law (video - Adam Shapiro / Fox Business)
• Creditors Receive Detroit’s Preliminary Debt Plan (Corey Williams / Columbus Dispatch)
• New Jersey Senate President 'Will Shut Down Government’ Over Pension Reform Threat Charlie Thomas / aiCIO)
• The Good News About Jersey’s Pension Reform Was Also the Bad News (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• New Mayor De Blasio Settles for Status Quo on New York City's Pension Boards (Sally Goldenberg / Capital New York)
• Comprehensive and Sustainable Pension Reform Is Elusive in Pennsylvania (op-ed - Richard Dreyfuss /
• Jacksonville Pension Reform Task Force at Odds With Police and Firefighters Over Balance of Power on Board (David Bauerlein / Florida Times-Union)
• Rhode Island State Investment Commission Drops Hedge Fund Criticized by Unionized Teachers (Tom Mooney / Providence Journal)
• Obama Hopes myRA Will Be First Step on Retirement (Associated Press)
• A Guide to Obama's Plan for Retirement Savings (Paul Wiseman / Associated Press)
• US Senator Harkin Pitches Private Pension Retirement Fix (Jennifer Jacobs / Des Moines Register)
• ISSUE BRIEF: Employee Contributions to Public Pension Plans (National Association of State Retirement Administrators)
• Americans View Defined Contribution Retirement Accounts Favorably, Survey Finds (John Manganaro / PlanSponsor)
• Sweeping Pension Reform at the Heart of German Chancellor Merkel's Plans (Europe Online Magazine)
• PENSION PULSE: Ontario's Technical Advisory Group? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 29, 2014

• CalSTRS, Chronically Underfunded, Now Faces a Deficit of Crisis Proportions: 'Where Is the Sense of Urgency?' (Adam Tatum / Public Sector Inc.)
• Everything Is Great in California -- But Don’t Look Too Closely (Steven Greenhut / Public Sector Inc.)
• New Jersey Faces Faces 'Hard Truth' of Sevices vs Pension Costs (Mark Lagerkvist / New Jersey Watchdog)
• READ THE STUDY: 'New Jersey Pension Study' (pdf - Richard C. Dreyfuss & Steven Malanga / Common Sense Institute)
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's Wobble on Pensions Brings Shutdown Threat (editorial - Star-Ledger)
• Chicago Pension Tab: $18,596 for Every Man, Woman and Child (Hal Dardick / Chicago Tribune)
• Public Employee Union Group Sues to Overturn Illinois Pension Reform Law (Reuters)
• Unions Sue to Block Illinois State Pension Reform Plan (CBS Chicago)
• How Are Pensions Protected State-by-State? (Liz Farmer / Governing)
• Supreme Court Case Exposes Union Greed, But Will the Justices Turn a Blind Eye? (George Leef / Forbes)
• Forming a Bipartisan Consensus for Public Employee Union Reform (Ed Ring / Union Watch)
• Obama Unveils Savings Proposal for Workers Lacking 401-K (Mike Dorning and Margaret Collins / Reuters)
• PENSION PULSE: Air Canada's Pension Flying High? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 28, 2014

• Hey, Governor: California's 'Wall of Debt’ Is $330 Billion, Not $25 Billion (editorial - U-T San Diego)
• GRAPHIC: The Shadow of California's Unfunded Liabilities (Doug Griswold / Bay Area News Group)
• The Fall of Pacific Grove – Part 4 of 7: Outsourcing of Safety Services Causes Increased Pension Deficits (John Moore / UnionWatch)
• Watsonville, California Eyes Hiking Sales Tax to 9% to Fund Police, Fire (Donna Jones / Santa Cruz Sentinel)
• Los Angeles Mayor’s Budget Dilemma: A Time for Truth (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• State Debts Overshadow Brightening Revenue Picture (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• Illinois Pension Law Saves $15 Billion Less Than First Thought (Ray Long and Maura Zurick / Chicago Tribune)
• Illinois’ Pension Savings Greater Than Originally Forecast? Not So Fast (Ted Dabrowski / Illinois Policy Institute)
• A Prize-Winning Pension Plan for Jacksonville, Florida (column - Wayne Ezell / Florida Times-Union)
• Is the Rhode Island Pension Commission Making Up Numbers? (Michael G. Riley / GoLocalProv)
• Lawyers Give 16th Update on Rhode Island Secret Pension Talks; Back Friday (blog - Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV)
• PENSION PULSE: Ontario's Flawed Pension Plans? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 27, 2014

• California's Local Governments Need to Prepare Now for the CalPERS Pension Avalanche (editorial - Press-Enterprise)
• Committee Files Pension Reform Initiative to Bring Down Ventura County’s $1 Billion in Pension Debt (Josh Altic / Ballot News)
• Ventura County Pension Reform Has Poster Child in Its Former Sheriff (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• California's 'Wall of Debt' Is Only a Slice of Its Liability Problem (Jessica Calefati / San Jose Mercury News)
• San Diego's Pension Overhaul (Craig Gustafson / U-T San Diego)
• The Big (Double) Dipper: Riverside Fire Chief Retires, Gets Rehired (blog - Dan Bernstein / Press-Enterprise)
• Riverside, California's Retired Fire Chief Got Six-Figure Leave Payout (Alicia Robinson / Press-Enterprise)
• Ventura County Public-Safety Chiefs Fear Losing Employees if Pension Reform Measure Passes (Kathleen Wilson / Ventura County Star) $$
• Day's Pension Stories Should Arouse Connecticut's Voting Public (opinion column - Dick Ahles / The Day)
• Connecticut's State Correctional Officers Earn Their Pensions (guest opinion - C.J. Sullivan / The Day)
• New Jersey: Is Double-Dippergate Next? (Dave Neese / The Trentonian)
• Pennsylvania Faces $600 Million Jump in Pension Costs (John Finnerty / Daily Item)
• Town Manager Accuses Rhode Island's State Revenue Director of 'Extortion’ Over Coventry's Pension Deficit (Thomas J. Morgan / Providence Journal)
• New Mexico Lawmakers’ Pension Plan Swimming in Dough (Thomas Cole / Albuquerque Journal)
• $200 Million Colorado Transportation District Pension Fund in Danger of Going Bust, Analysts Say (Monte Whaley / Denver Post)
• National Epidemic: Public Employees 'Spiking' Pensions; Taxpayers 'Squeezed and Abused in Every Imaginable Way' (Bob Unruh / World Net Daily)

January 24, 2014

• Stanford Professor Joshua Rauh Says US Public Pension Hole Is Too Big to Fill Even With an Improving Economy (video - Adam Shapiro / Fox Business)
• WEBCAST TODAY: 'Innovative Ideas for the Future of US Public Sector Pensions Symposium' (Joshua Rauh / Stanford University)
• Gov. Brown’s State of the State: California's Long-Term Liabilities Are 'Enormous’ and 'Growing’ (Ben Boychuk / Public Sector Inc.)
• Orange County Pension Board for Public Employees Takes $450 Million Risk (Mike Reicher / Orange County Register)
• Oceanside Police Union Is Out of Touch (editorial - U-T San Diego)
• CalPERS Bribery Figure, in Poor Health, Gets Trial Postponed (Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee)
• Retirees Aren't Headed for the Poor House (op-ed - Sylvester J. Schieber and Andrew G. Biggs / Wall Street Journal) $$
• How Public Employees Have Superior Rights and Entitlements (Bill White / UnionWatch)
• Pension Reform Didn't Save Illinois (editorial - Morris Daily Herald)
• U. of Illinois to Explore Other Retirement Programs After State Reforms (Kevin Olsen / Pensions & Investments)
• Push Has Come to Shove in Real Time for Pennsylvania on Pension Reform (editorial - The Sentinel)
• 'Obsolete’ and 'Unsustainable' State Pension Plan Must Go, Says Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tem (Joseph Bell / Kane Republican)

January 23, 2014

• All California Cities Should Support the Statewide Pension Reform Initiative (editorial - Kevin T. Hale / Fox 11 News)
• Ventura County Taxpayer Group Trying to Get Pension Reform Measure on November Ballot (Anna Bitong / Thousand Oaks Acorn)
• 1,600 Judges Sue California for Benefits (Matt Reynolds / Courthose News Sevice)
• Case Before US Supreme Court Could Shake Public Employee Unions (Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Illinois Retiree Associations File Lawsuits Against Recent Pension Reform Legislation (Eleanor Black / Daily Illini)
• Illinois Senate President Says Chicago Pension Fix Is Job 1 This Year (Rick Pearson / Chicago Tribne)
• Pension Reform Law Won’t Fix Illinois’ Fiscal Woes (op-ed - Richard F. Dye / Chicago Sun-Times)
• Report Says Pension Reform Will Not Fix Illinois Budget (video - Chicago Tonight / WTTW-TV)
• READ THE REPORT: 'Illinois Still Has Serious Fiscal Problems After December 2013 Pension Law Changes' (Fiscal Futures Project / Univ. of Illinois)
• Detroit Bailout Would Come at the Expense of Statewide Taxpayers (commentary - Michael D. LaFaive / Michigan Capitol Confidential )
• Jacksonville Mayor Wants JEA to Contribute to Pension Reform (Mike Lyons / First Coast News)
• PENSION PULSE: Ontario Sticks it to the Feds! (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 22, 2014

• Gov. Brown Needs to Get Serious About CalSTRS' Unfunded Liability (editorial - Daily Democrat
• Life Expectancy Gains: New Front in California Pension Funding Woes (Chris Reed / CalWatchdog)
• City of Redondo Beach Fights Unions; Full-Time Firefighters Make $220,990 Total Compensation (Ed Ring / UnionWatch)
• Monterey City Council to Get Briefing on Public Employee Pensions (Larry Parsons / Monterey Herald)
• Fixing California's Out-Of-Control Public Pension System (letter - Orange County Register)
• CalPERS Actuarial Reports For 2012 Now Online (California Public Employees Retirement System)
• Detroit Retirees' Lawyers to Continue Health Insurance Fight in Court Today (Chad Livengood / Detroit News)
• Michigan Governor Expected to Announce Plan to Guard Detroit Pensions, DIA Art (Paul Egan, Kathleen Gray and Mark Stryker / Detroit Free Press)
• Arizona Pension Trust in Federal Inquiry (Craig Harris / Arizona Republic)
• Moody’s Praises Settlement Cutting Cranston, Rhode Island's Pensions (blog - Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV)
• Rhode Island Pension Lawsuit Talks Cloaked in Secrecy (Tom Mooney / Providence Journal)
• University of Illinois: State Pension Reforms Won't 'Dent' Budget Woes (Kevin Olsen / Pensions & Investments) Free Reg
• Cincinnati City Council Pension Reform Votes Could Be Coming Soon (Jay Hanselman / WVXU-FM)
• PENSION PULSE: Closing the Canadian Pension Gap? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 21, 2014

• CalPERS: Living Longer Is Hazardous to Pension Health (Teri Sforza / Riverside Press-Enterprise)
• Death and Pensions in California (Paul Hatfield / CityWatch LA)
• Mortality Risk for California's Police and Firefighters Is Surprisingly Low -- and Dropping Rapidly (blog - Richard Rider Rants)
• US Military Veterans Lack 'California Rule’ Pension Protection (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• The Fall of Pacific Grove – Part 3 of 7: CalPERS Begins Calling Deficits 'Side Funds' and Raises Annual Contribution Rates (John Moore / UnionWatch)
• Fullerton Ex-Cop Acquitted in Kelly Thomas’ Death Receiving $40,000-A-Year Pension From the Los Angeles Police Department (RT)
• Gov. Brown Needs to Get Serious About CalSTRS' Unfunded Liabilities (editorial - Contra Costa Times)
• Average Number of California State Workers Falls During Gov. Jerry Brown’s Administration (Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Bottom 5 States in Fiscal Condition: New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, California (blog - Mike Shedlock / Mish's Trends)
• Tulsa, Oklahoma Studies Shifting From a Defined Benefit Pension to a 401(k)-Like Plan (Kevin Canfield / Tulsa World)
• Kansas City’s Dilemma: Fund Pensions Now, Pay Off Power & Light District Debt Later (Dave Helling / Kansas City Star)
• Arizona Legislator Seeks to Allow Cuts in Public Employee Pensions (Bob Christie / Washington Times)
• Looming Pension Payment Could Drive Chicago's Taxes to Highest in US (Paul Merrion / Crain's Chicago Business)
• Fighting Mad Over Illinois Pension Reform (Jon Krenek / Daily Journal)
• Rhode Island's Pension Reform Effort Offers Lessons for Other States and Municipalities (Anthony Randazzo / Reason Foundation)
• Kentucky Legislature Must Fund Pensions; Weak Revenue No Excuse for Dodging Obligation, Again (editorial - Lexington Herald-Leader)
• Ohio Lawmaker Says Teachers Will Have to Dig Deeper Into Their Pocketbooks to Bolster Their Pension Fund (Darrel Rowland / Columbus Dispatch)
• States Must Stop Fiscal Gimmicks and Address Liabilities, Says Report (Elaine S. Povich / Pew Charitable Trusts)
• PENSION PULSE: Diversity in the Workplace? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 20, 2014

• FOR HOLIDAY VISITORS:
• Marin County's Public Pension Policy Banks on a Pandora's Box (op-ed - Bob Benbow and Bill Monnet / Marin Independent Journal)
• California's Coachella Valley Pension Gap Grows Another $75 Million (Erica Felci / Desert Sun)
• Pension Reform Vote This Week in Dana Point, California (Peter Schelden / Dana Point Patch)

January 19, 2014

• FOR WEEKEND VISITORS:
• Time for CalPERS to Get Real About Life Expectancy (column - Daniel Borenstein / Contra Costa Times)
• California Police-Beating Verdict Cause for Cynicism (Steven Greenhut / U-T San Diego)
• US States Need to Enact Reforms to Address Fiscal Threats, Panel Says (Dan Fitzpatrick / Wall Street Journal)

January 18, 2014

• FOR WEEKEND VISITORS:
• Gov. Jerry Brown Needs to Get Serious About California's Teacher Pension Fund Debt (editorial - San Jose Mercury News)
• Burgling the Future (Larry M. Elkin / Palisades Hudson Financial Group)

January 17, 2014

• California’s Attorney General Politicizes the Initiative Process—Again (Steven Greenhut / City Journal)
• Battle Over Police Pensions in US Cities Takes Ugly Turn (Tim Reid / Reuters)
• Rhode Island Citizens Handcuffed by Police Unions (column - Steven Frias / Providence Journal)
• CalSTRS Reports 19.1% Investment Gain, But Still Faces Long-Term Shortfall of $70 Billion (Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee)
• You Might Not Know Your City Is Going Broke (Steven Malanga / Bloomberg)
• State Budget Crisis Task Force Report Urges Municipalities to Stop Hiding Fiscal Troubles (Rick Lyman & Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• State Budget Crisis Task Force Calls for National Attention to Reforms in State Budgeting, Financial Reporting (Task Force on the State Budget Crisis)
• State Budget Crisis Task Force Calls for National Attention to Reforms in State Budgeting and Financial Reporting (press release)
• READ OR DOWNLOAD: Final Report of the State Budget Crisis Task Force (pdf)
• You Think the Deficit Is Bad? Federal Unfunded Liabilities Exceed $127 Trillion (op-ed - Vance Ginn / Forbes)
• Public Pensions: Inaccurate Financial Reporting, Bad Investment Incentives (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• Why 14 Million Public Employees May One Day Lose Their Retirement Benefits (video - Adam Shapiro / Fox Business)
• READ THE REPORT: Strengthening the Security of Public Sector Defined Benefit Plans (pdf - Donald J. Boyd & Peter J. Kiernan / Rockefeller Institute)
• Pacific Research Institute Report Examines Bankruptcy as Tool for Struggling Cities (Chris Reed / CalWatchdog)
• READ THE REPORT: Going Broke One City at a Time: Municipal Bankruptcies in America (pdf - Wayne H. Winegarden / Pacific Research Institute)
• Municipal Bond Disclosure Continues to Evolve With GASB Statements 67 and 68 (Michael J. Ross / MuniNetGuide)
• Michigan Lawmakers Weigh Aid for Detroit on Pensions (Monica Davey / New York Times)
• Contracts With Wide-Open Disability Language Invite Abuse by Firefighters and Cops (column - Mark Patinkin / Providence Journal)
• Amid Bridge Scandal, New Jersey Gov. Christie Touts Pension Reform in Speech (Jenna Portnoy / Star-Ledger)
• Facing Financial Reality in Boston (editorial - Providence Journal)
• Warnings Raise Serious Doubts About the Future Solvency of Montana's Pension Funds (op-ed - Patrick Faber / Great Falls Tribune)
• PENSION PULSE: The Pension Proctologist? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 16, 2014

• Paving the Hard Road to California Pension Reform; Other Localities Poised to Follow San Diego's Model (Steven Greenhut / U-T San Diego)
• Ventura County, California: Pension Reform Comes to the November Ballot (Peter Foy / FlashReport)
• San Diego’s Pension Reform Model Finally Inspires Copy-Cats (Chris Reed / CalWatchdog)
• NEW STUDY: Sonoma County’s Pension Crisis (Ken Churchill / California Public Policy Center)
• California Has to Face the Pension Music (editorial - Orange County Register) $$
• The Next Chance to Reform California's Public Pensions (editorial - Victorville Daily Press)
• Marin County Pension Reform Group Finds Misleading Flaw in Attorney General’s Summary of Pension Reform Act of 2014 (pdf - press release)
• The Man Who Saw the Public Pension Crisis Coming Almost 40 Years Ago (video - Adam Shapiro / Fox Business)
• Some Public Pension Funding 'Deeply Flawed' Says Report by Rockefeller Institute (Naomi Jagoda / The Bond Buyer)
• It’s Time to Cut Off the Feedbag of the Public Trough (column - Danedri Herbert / Kansas City Star)
• New York Public TV Station Preparing to Launch Two-Year Public Pension Project (Meg Heckman / NetNewsCheck)
• For Residents of Scranton, Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Is an Inviting Option (Alana Semuels / Los Angeles Times)
• Scranton Residents Plead for Bankruptcy vs. Higher Taxes; Different Than Detroit (blog - Mike Shedlock / Mish's Trends)
• Pensylvania Senate Leader: Do Away With 'Obsolete, Unsustainable' Pensions or Face Budget Cuts (Eric Boehm / Pottstown Mercury)
• Michigan Court Upholds Law Requiring Teachers, Public Employees to Pay More for Their Pensions and Benefits (Rick Pluta / Michigan Radio)
• Speed Along Illinois Pension Reform Lawsuits (editorial - State Journal-Register)
• Jacksonville Pension Task Force Shaping Paths Toward Reform (Bob Mack / Florida Times-Union)
• City Manager’s Budget Deals With Kansas City’s Mounting Pension Costs (Lynn Horsley / Kansas City Star)
• Study Warns of Delays in Funding Massachusetts Pensions (WWLP-TV))
• Puerto Rico Moves Closer to Default (Henry Sender / CCNBC)
• Puerto Rico's Supreme Court Halts Teacher Pension Reform (Business News Americas)
• PENSION PULSE: CalPERS Revamping Its PE Portfolio? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 15, 2014

• Why Gov. Jerry Brown Must Act THIS Year on CalSTRS Underfunding (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Confront the Shortfall in California Teachers' Pension Plan (editorial - Press-Enterprise)
• Gov. Brown: No Teachers’ Pension Fund Fix Until After California's November Election (blog - Chris Reed / CalWatchdog)
• Newport Beach, California May Cut $100,000 Lifeguards as Pension Costs Pile Up (James Nash / Businessweek)
• City of Palo Alto, California Faces a Worker Strike – Average Total Compensation of $139,907 Is Not Enough (Ed Ring / UnionWatch)
• Voters to Be Asked to Phase Out Pensions in Ventura County, California (Kathleen Wilson / Ventura County Star) $$
• How Solvent Is Your State? (Veronique de Rugy / National Review)
• READ THE STUDY: 'State Fiscal Condition: Ranking the 50 States' (pdf - Sarah Arnett / Mercatus Center)
• State Budgets Still Need Reform, Says Task Force (Peter Barnes / Fox Business)
• READ OR DOWNLOAD: Final Report of the State Budget Crisis Task Force
• States Have $5 Trillion in Debts That Taxpayers Will Have to Pay (Eric Boehm / Watchdog.org)
• Karate Cop Is Worst New York City Disability Scammer, Says District Attorney (Rebecca Rosenberg and Larry Celona / New York Post)
• Timely Ruling on Illinois Pension Lawsuits Best for All Concerned (editorial - Pantagraph)
• New Jersey Gov. Christie Calls for Pension Reform (Robert Slavin / The Bond Buyer)
• 'Heck’ of Hypocrisy in Gov. Christie’s State of State Speech (Mark Lagerkvist / New Jersey Watchdog)
• Pennsylvania School District Cites 'Catastrophic' Pension Woes (Gary Weckselblatt / The Intelligencer)
• Calculation Error Made Ohio Teachers’ Pension Plan Look Healthier (Darrel Rowland / Columbus Dispatch)
• North Carolina State Workers Demand Treasurer Release Pension Records (column - Ted Siedle / Forbes)
• Postal Reform Could Save Military Pensions (editorial - U-T San Diego)
• Germany Eyes Tax Revenues to Fund Pension Reforms (Ulrika Lomas / Tax-News.com)
• PENSION PULSE: Dumping Structured Crap in Your Pensions? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 14, 2014

• Is Gov. Brown All Talk on California's Teacher Pensions? (Steven Greenhut / U-T San Diego)
• California Legislative Analyst's Office Comments on Funding CalSTRS Over the Long Term (Sierra Sun Times)
• California Gov. Brown's Budget Plan Faulted on Bullet Train, CalSTRS Funding (Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times)
• Gov. Brown's Talk About CalSTRS' Unfunded Liability Is No Action (vlog - Dan Walters / Saramento Bee)
• Los Angeles City Council Can’t Handle the Truth (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• San Jose Needs to Shore Up Disability Policy for Police and Firefighters (editorial - Mercury News)
• Officials Poised to Officially End CalPERS’ Online Pension Database Project (blog - Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• Stung by Scandal, Giant Pension Fund CalPERS Tries to Make It Right (Randall Smith / New York Times)
• CalPERS Reports Higher Investment Gains (Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee)
• CalPERS Investments Gain 16.2% in 2013 (Marc Lifsher / Los Angeles Times)
• CalPERS Posts 16.19% Return in 2013 (Randy Diamond / Pensions & Investments)
• CalPERS Says Assets Returned 16.2% in 2013, Best in 11 Years (Michael B. Marois / Bloomberg)
• Average Connecticut Teacher Retires With $47,000 Pension (Johanna Somers / the Day)
• Fiscal Armageddon: Actuarial Foreplay, Public Debt and Inadequate Paranoia (Patrick B. McGuigan / Oklahoma Watchdog)
• Illinois Pension Bill Won't Save What Sponsors Promised, at Least to Start, Civic Fed Says (blog - Greg Hinz / Crain's Chicago Business)
• Illinois Pension 'Fix’ Has Many Problems, But the Pension Clause Isn’t One (Jacob Huebert / Illinois Policy Institute)
• Florida Lawmakers Ready to Address Pension Reform (Kathryn DeMartini / WTXL-TV)
• Pension Reform to Take Center Stage in the Pennsylvania Legislature This Spring, Leaders Say (Jan Murphy / Patriot-News)
• Pension Deal a Heavy Lift for Chattanooga’s New Mayor (David Morton / Nooga.com)
• New Jersey State Senate OKs Jersey City Pension Reform (Michael Linhorst / The Record)
• Disabled Veterans to Be Exempted From Federal Pension Cuts (Washington Examiner)
• Bonds Captivate $16 Trillion of Pension Funds (Matt Robinson / Bloomberg)
• The Zombie Hedge Funds Have Representation, and Would Like to Respond (blog - Dan McCrum / FTAlphaville)
• PENSION PULSE: The Real Wolves of Wall Street? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 13, 2014

• Pay Off California's Teacher Pension Debt (editorial - San Mateo Daily Journal)
• Gov. Brown 'Committed’ to Getting CalSTRS Rate Hike (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• Gov. Brown Vows to Start Debate Over California Teacher Pensions (CBS Sacramento)
• A Pension Fix California Voters May Never See on the Ballot (column - Paul Gullixson / Press Democrat)
• David Crane’s Wake-Up Call About CalSTRS' Unfunded Liabilities (Steven Greenhut / Public Sector Inc.)
• The Fall of Pacific Grove, California – Part 2 of 7: How the City Thwarted Reform and CalPERS Skimmed Surpluses (John Moore / UnionWatch)
• California Gov. Jerry Brown Uses Budget Surplus to Prevent Bankruptcies (Eric Pianin / The Fiscal Times)
• Santa Ana, California’s New City Manager Under Scrutiny for Raking in $800,000 in Pay and Benefits (PublicCEO)
• California Cities Can’t Pay Employees' Pension Share, Too (and Too Bad) (Steven Greenhut / Public Sector Inc.)
• State Governments Face a Combined $5.1 Trillion in Debt, Report Says (Cory Eucalitto / State Budget Solutions)
• 'A Financial Time Bomb': Connecticut Pension System Is One of the Country's Most Underfunded (Johanna Somers / The Day)
• Six-Figure Salary and a Buyout Create Quite a Pension for Retired University of Connecticut Professor (Johanna Somers / The Day)
• Legacy of Connecticut's Pension Neglect Tough to Reverse (editorial - The Day)
• SEARCHABLE DATABASES: Connecticut Public Employee Pensions (The Day)
• Funding Pensions in the Windy City (Eric Tawney / Chicago Policy Review)
• Bill Would Phase Out Defined Benefit Pensions for Public Employees in Washington State (Jim Brunner / Seattle Times)
• 14th Briefing Held on Rhode Island Pension Talks as Settlement Rumors Swirl (blog - Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV)
• Rhode Island Lawmakers Could Ignore Pension Settlement (Tim White & Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV)
• Storms Are Brewing on Houston's Horizon (Bill King / Houston Chronicle)
• Memphis Is Facing $300 Million to More Than $600 Million in Employee Pension Debt (video - Ashley Crockett / WREG-TV)
• Iowans for Tax Relief Calls Public Employees' Pensions 'Huge Liability' Needing Reform in 2014 Session (William Petroski / Des Moines Register)
• Pension Aspect of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's Bridgegate Scandal (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Public Television Will Examine the Public Pension Crisis in America’s Cities and States (press release - WNET-TV)
• Long Beach, New York Seeks to Sweeten employees' Retirement Benefits (Patrick Whittle / Newsday)
• New York State Assemblyman Will Keep Pension (Scott Brown / WGRZ-TV)
• Pennsylvania Senate Prez: Do Away With 'Obsolete, Unsustainable’ Pensions or Face Difficult Budget Cuts (Eric Boehm / PA Independent)
• Re-Elected Pennsylvania Senate President Cries for Public Pension Reform (Saratoga Post)
• Liberal Projections Produced Jacksonville's Pension Crisis (column - Ron Littlepage / Florida Times-Union)
• Wyoming Firefighters Pension Plan a Hot Topic at Budget Session (Hannah Wiest / Sheridan Press)
• Pensions of Top Military Brass Put Pentagon on a 'Trajectory That Is Unsustainable' (Tom Vanden Brook / USA Today)
• US Military Offers Pension 'Spiking' Too (letter - Arizona Republic)
• The Woman That President Obama Hired to Avert the US Private Sector Pensions Crisis (Emile Hallez / Financial Times)
• Alcoa Has $3.7 Billion Pension Shortfall (Aaron Elstein / Crain's New York Business)
• BP May Close Its Defined Benefit Pension Plan to New Hires (Steve Johnson / Financial Times)
• Ryanair Freezes Defined Benefit Pension Plan (Jack Jones / Professional Pensions)

January 10, 2014

• California's Budget: The Good, the Bad and the Oblivious (editorial - U-T San Diego)
• Brown's Budget: Teacher Pension Battle Looms (Michael Linder / KABC Radio)
• California Legislature's Refusal to Deal With Pension Debt Is Irresponsible (vlog - Dan Walters / Sacramento Bee)
• Gov. Jerry Brown's $107 Billion California Spending Plan Leaked (Melody Gutierrez / San Francisco Chronicle)
• Los Angeles 2020 Commission: A Time for Truth … AND for Solutions! (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• Report Says 5 Illinois State Pension Funds Owe $100.5 Billion (Canton Daily Leader)
• Illinois Public Employee Unions Challenge Pension Reforms; Say They Violate State Constitution (Bill McMorris / Washington Free Beacon)
• Minnesota Pension Fund to Ask Legislature for Help Monitoring Overtime Spiking (MaryJo Webster / Pioneer Press)
• New York City Police Scrutinize Pensions; 6 More Arraigned in Disability Fraud (James C. McKinley Jr. / New York Times)
• New York City's New Mayor to Pursue Pension Fnd Investments in Affordable Housing (Sage Um / aiCIO)
• Reform Would Improve New York City’s Pension Funds' Returns, But It Is Unlikely to Come Soon (editorial - The Economist)
• Rhode Island Superior Court Judge OKs Consent Degree Changing COLAs in Cranston Fire, Police Pensions (Gregory Smith / Providence Journal)
• Chattanooga Mayor Accepts Pension Task Force Proposal (Bill Mitchell / WDEF-TV)
• Chattanooga Council Yet to OK Pension Deal That Saves City $200 Million as Police, Firefighters Pay More (Joy Lukachick / Times Free Press)
• Selling Railroad System Could Boost Cincinnati's Pension Fund, But Is It Worth It? (James Pilcher / Cincinnati Enquirer)
• Expect Pennsylvania Lawmakers to Focus This Year on Pension Reform (Al Gnoza / WHTM-TV)
• Massachusetts State Debt Among Highest in US (Zeke Wright / GoLocalWorcester)
• Careful Cut in Military Pensions Makes Sense (editorial - Newsday)
• Communist Party Defends China's 'Dual-Track Pension' Plan Skewed Towards Public Employees (Chris Luo / South China Morning Post)
• PENSION PULSE: Ramping Up PE Exposure in 2014? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 9, 2014

• California's Long Failure to Fully Fund Teacher Pensions Will Be Costly (editorial - Fresno Bee)
• Chuck Reed Blasts Attorney General's Description of California Pension Reform Ballot Initiative (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• Another Controversial Initiative Summary for a California Ballot Measure (Joel Fox / Fox & Hounds)
• Distressed Cities and the Lessons of California (Charles Chieppo / Governing)
• STUDY: Are City Fiscal Woes Widespread? Are Pensions the Cause? (pdf - Center for Retirement Research)
• Transition Cost Not a Bar to Public Pension Reform (Andrew G. Biggs, Josh Mcgee, Michael Podgursky / Pensions & Investments)
• Public Employees Pitch in for Pensions; Practice of California Governments Covering Employee Share Is Waning (Trent Seibert / U-T San Diego)
• Pension Costs of Our Public-Sector Employees Are Bankrupting California (letter - La Cañada Valley Sun)
• Poll: What’s Next for Chuck Reed’s California Pension Reform Proposal? (blog - Jon Ortiz / Sacramento Bee)
• California Legislator Proposes Ending Health Benefits for Former Part-Time Politicians (Thomas Peele / Mercury News)
• Illinois Governor Signs Chicago Park District Pension Reform Bill (Mark W. Anderson / NBC Chicago)
• Detroit Pensions Are Frozen, Then Thawed (Bill Vlasic / New York Times)
• Detroit Delays Pension Freeze (blog - Walter Russell Mead / The American Interest)
• Ex-Cop in NYPD/FDNY Social Security Scam Expected to Surrender Today (Shayna Jacobs, Edgar Sandoval & Corky Siemaszko / New York Daily News)
• Court Ruling Says Cincinnati Pension Plan’s Medical Benefits Can Be Changed (blog - James Pilcher / Cincinnati Enquirer)
• Massachusetts Cities, Towns Struggle to Keep Up With Rising Health, Pension Costs (Lane Lambert / Patriot Ledger)
• Jacksonville Pension Task Force Keeps Tax Rate Increase on Table (David Bauerlein / Florida Times-Union)
• PENSION PULSE: One Surefire Way to Cure 'Pension Envy’? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

January 8, 2014

• $71 Billion CalSTRS Liability Won’t Shrink (editorial - Sacramento Bee)
• California's Political Leaders Must Focus on CalSTRS Funding Crisis (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Santa Ana, California’s New City Manager Under Scrutiny for Raking in $800,000 in Pay and Benefits (with video - Cristy Fajardo / CBS Los Angeles)
• California Pension Reform Movement Clears One Hurdle (Dan Walters / Sacramento Bee)
• San Jose Mayor's California Pension Reform Initiative Cleared for Signature Gathering, But Will It Make the Ballot? (Mike Rosenberg / Mercury News)
• California Pension Reformer Chuck Reed Disputes Write-Up of Initiative (Jim Christie / Reuters)
• Chuck Reed Blasts Attorney General's Description of California Pension Reform Ballot Initiative (Steve Malanga / Public Sector Inc.)
• California Pension Measure Given Questionable Title, Cleared for Signature Gathering (Brittany Clingen / Ballot News)
• California Public Pension Reform Initiative Cleared for Signature-Gathering (Scott Shackford / Reason)
• California Public Employee Pension Reform: The War Begins (Kerry Cavanaugh / Los Angeles Times)
• California Initiative Would Topple Pension Protections (Dan McSwain / U-T San Diego)
• Stanislaus County Leaders OK Salary Hike, Pension Deal for Deputies (Ken Carlson / Modesto Bee)
• About 100 Retired Cops and Firefighters Accused in New York City Disability Scam (with video - Jeff Pohlman / CNBC)
• Charges for 106 Retired Cops and Firefighters in Huge Fraud Over Disability (William K. Rashbaum and James C. McKinley Jr. / New York Times)
• FDNY, NYPD Retirees Who 'Faked 9/11 Illnesses in Scam' Not Too Sick to Have Fun (Rebecca Rosenberg and Jamie Schram / New York Post)
• Police and Firefighters Caught in Disability Scam (blog - Mike Shedlock / Mish's Trends)
• Public Pension Reform: Benefit Design as the Key to Sustainability (Carl A. Hess, Thomas J. Healey and Kevin Nicholson / Public Sector Inc.)
• Top Military Brass Will Keep Their Specially Boosted Pensions (Tom Vanden Brook / Usa Today)
• Wanted: Solutions to Houston's Unfunded Pension Problem (KUHF Radio)
• Illinois Is Drowning in Pension Debt (op-ed - Ben VanMetre / Madison-St. Clair Record)
• Dover, Delaware Officials Deal With New Pension Accounting Standards (Chris Flood / Delaware State News)
• Jacksonville Pension Task Force Dust-Up Is No Big Deal (column - Ron Littlepage / Florida Times-Union)
• Massachusetts Municipal Revenues Up Slightly, But Overshadowed by Pension and Health Benefit Obligations, Study Finds (Shira Schoenberg / Republican)
• State of Tennessee Could Step in on Memphis Pension Problems (with video - Adam Hammond / WREG-TV)
• Pennsylvania's Ranking Senator Urges Some Kind of Pension Overhaul (Mary Wilson / WITF Radio)
• Retired Louisiana Cops, Activist Pensioners, and the Economic Blowback Over Snowden (David Sirota / PR Watch)
• Kansas Lawmakers to Reopen Debate on Public Employee Pensions (John Hanna / The Legal Record)
• Boeing Puts Public Employee Pensions at Risk (column - Danny Westneat / Seattle Times)
• Retirement Crisis Hitting Country (editorial - Greenville News)
• PENSION PULSE: Detroit's Deep Pension Freeze? (blog - Leo Kolivakis)

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