• Home
• Blog
• Public Employee Pensions
• Corporate Pensions
• Social Security
• International
• Press Room
• About Us

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 state pension funds, corporate pensions, milti-employer pension funds, social security and international trends. Now in its 15th year, PensionTsunami was founded by and is edited by Jack Dean. (Contact: JackDean-at-PensionTsunami-dot-com or 916-644-0688 or @PensionTsunami)

Latest Newsclips     last updated January 28 5:02pm PST

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

January 28, 2020

• Updated at 8:35 AM (Pacific) -- FINAL:
• 2020 Financial State of the Cities (Truth in Accounting)
• Taxing Tuesday Special: State of the Cities From Truth in Accounting (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• Updated at 8:10 AM (Pacific):
• Liabilities Mostly Offset High Returns for Pension Funds Around Globe (Douglas Appell / Pensions & Investments)
• Illinois Cities Spend 33% of Property Taxes or More on Pensions (John Kemp / Daily Gaming World)
• Stop Arguing Over Who Picks Up New Mexico's Pension Tab and Split the Bill (Sherry Robinson / Carlsbad Current Argus)
• As of 7:25 AM (Pacific Time) . . .
• School Pensions in New York: Check Who Got Them and How Much They Received (Joseph Spector & Sean Lahman / Democrat & Chronicle)
• How Kenya Plans to Reform Unsustainable Pension Schemes (CNBC Africa)

January 27, 2020

• Bonds Are a Risky Way to Deal With Pension Woes (column - Jon Coupal / Orange County Register)
• California’s Big Educational Dilemma (column - Dan Walters / CALmatters)
• How to Protect Yourself From the Collapsing Pension System (David C. Lewis / NuWire)
• Stars Have Aligned for Needed Pension Reform in New Mexico (op-ed - Paul Gessing & Len Gilroy / Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Retirement Obligations Are Squeezing Operating Budgets in Some of California’s Biggest School Districts (John Myers / Los Angeles Times)
• America’s Debt Spree Isn’t Stopping. It Might Soon Be Too Late. (column - Robert J. Samuelson / Washington Post)

January 24, 2020

• Will Riverside County Do Something About Its Pension Problem? (editorial - Press-Enterprise)
• Pension Bonds Are a Last Resort for Simi Valley (letter - The Acorn)
• The 1%: Illinois’ Public Pension Millionaires (Austin Berg / Illinois Policy)
• Membership in Public Employee Unions Falls to a 20-Year Low (Steven Malanga / City Journal)
• CalPERS Wants to Keep Private Debt Documents From Public Release (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• Hold Novato School District Accountable, Vote No on Measure a (op-ed - Tina McMillan & Julia Lavaroni / Marin Independent Journal)
• The High Cost of Rejecting Public Pension Reform in Illinois ( Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• Time for Reform of Mississippi’s Defined Benefit Pension System (Bigger Pie Forum / Northside Sun)
• Why Kansas Governor Wants to Extend Pension Obligations and Pay Down Other Debt (Richard Williamson / The Bond Buyer)$$
• South Carolina Governor Calls for End to State Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Shift to Defined Contribution Plan (Bloomberg Law)$$

January 23, 2020

• California Voters Face Hundreds of Local Tax Measures (Dan Walters / CALmatters)
• California State Worker Pay Database Updated With 2019 Raises, Promotions (column - Wes Venteicher & Phillip Reese / Sacramento Bee)
• Monrovia, San Gabriel and West Covina Share a Fiscal Secret (column - Larry Wilson / Pasadena Star-News))

January 22, 2020

• Unfortunately, Ohio's Bad Government Will Be Rewarded (column - John Damschroder / News-Messenger)
• How California Public Agencies Can Reform Pension Benefits (Che Johnson & Lars Reed / American City & County)
• Grass Valley, California's $22 Million Unfunded City Employee Pension Debt (letter - The Union)
• After Benefits for Ohio Police and Firefighters Were Slashed, Could Health Care Cuts for Government Workers Be Next? (video - 19 News)
• Voters Deserve the Truth on Pension-Driven Tax Hikes (op-ed - Robert Fellner / Washington Examiner)

January 21, 2020

• Manhattan Beach Firefighter Pay Averages Over $300,000 Per Year (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• CalPERS Outlines Key Economic Risks for Next Decade (Steffan Navedo-Perez / Chief Investment Officer)
• Union Pension Funding Crisis Enters a New Decade (John Manganaro / PlanSponsor)
• California’s Free Community College Plan Collides With Skyrocketing Retirement Obligations (Allan Wheeler / Reason Foundation)
• The Wisconsin Retirement System Is Fully Funded and a Model for Other States (Kerri Seyfert / Reason Foundation)
• Public Pensions Are Woefully Underfunded; The Crunch Point Is Coming Soon (editorial - The Economist)$$
• America’s Public-Sector Pension Plans Are Trillions of Dollars Short; Police, Teachers, Face a Brutal Reckoning (column - The Economist)$$

January 20, 2020

• Inglewood, Pasadena, Torrance and Cathedral City Are Piling on Debt Because of Pension, Medical Costs (Tony Saavedra / Orange County Register)
• CalPERS Hits Milestone: Market Value Tops $400 Billion (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Massachusetts Pensions Grabbing Big Share of Limited Resources (Colin A. Young / The Sun)

January 17, 2020

• Petaluma 'Looked Under Every Rock’ for Pension Crisis Solution (Matt Brown / Argus-Courier)
• Riverside County’s Pension Liabilities Reach $3.5 Billion (with video - Daytona Everett / NBC Palm Springs)
• Union Rules, Not Wildfires, Are the Root of High Firefighter Overtime Costs (op-ed - Robert Fellner / Los Angeles Daily News)
• Ohio's Pension Fund Approves Future Health Benefits Cuts for Retirees (Andrew Tobias / Cleveland.com)
• Fewer Illinois Taxpayers Are on the Hook for Growing Public Sector Pension Liabilities (Greg Bishop / The Center Square)
• 2019 Massachusetts State Pension Data Now Online (Joe Dwinell / Boston Herald)

January 16, 2020

• Puerto Rico Government Retirees Could Face 8.5% Cut to Pensions, in Latest Blow for Island (Cristina Corujo / NBC South Florida)
• Wisconsin Bet That Interest Rates Wouldn't Go Down and It Lost Big (Fola Akinnibi / Bloomberg)
• Manhattan Beach Unified Says It May Have to Lay Off 30 Staffers to Reduce Spending by $3 Million (Tyler Shaun Evains / The Beach Reporter)
• Military Pensions Are Creating a Generation of Millionaires (Merle Jones / Forbes)
• Virgin Islands Governor Says He’s Trying to Address $4.4 Billion Pension Gap (Robert Slavin / The Bond Buyer)$$

January 15, 2020

• Riverside County Supervisor: 'Tough Love’ Required to Rein in Pension Debts (myLAnews.com)
• Avant-Garde Pension Reforms Can Turn Around Trillion-Dollar Deficits (Ross Marchand / Herald and News)
• Was the Illinois Constitution’s Pensions Clause Meant to Be a Suicide Pact? Three Important Pieces of Historical Context (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• Ohio Pension System Asks Legislators to Freeze Cost-Of-Living Raises for Retirees (Anna Staver / Columbus Dispatch)
• Pension Crisis: Grassley, Alexander Seek to Tackle Forecasted Union Pension Collapse (Rick Manning / Tri County Sentry)
• Riverside County’s Unfunded Pension Debt Grows to $3.5 Billion (Jeff Horseman / Press-Enterprise)

January 14, 2020

• San Diego’s Pension Debt Climbs Past $3 Billion for First Time (video - KUSI-TV)
• Groups Work to Keep PBGC Fees From Being Piggybank (Brian Croce / Pensions & Investments)
• Riverside County’s Pension Liabilities Rise, Now Exceed $3.5 Billion (MyNewsLA.com)
• Paris Pension Protests Are Petering Out (column - Adam O'Neal / Wall Street Journal)
• Macron’s Climbdown on Pension Age Fails to End Strikes (Adam Sage / The Times)$$
• CalPERS Board’s Divestment Dilemmas (Sarah Rundell / top1000funds.com)
• Pension Plans Will Boost Hedge Fund Investments in 2020, Study Says (Larry Light / Chief Investment Officer)
• Macron Scraps Proposal to Raise Retirement Age in France (Adam Nossiter / New York Times)

January 13, 2020

• San Diego Pension Debt Climbs Past $3 Billion for First Time (David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune)
• California Governor’s Proposed Budget Is Here (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Disgraced Congressman Hunter Will Likely Get $1.2 Million From His Federal Pension -- Despite His Felony Guilty Plea (Adam Andrzejewski / Forbes)
• Foolish California Bonds Put Taxpayers at Risk (op-ed - Jon Coupal / Orange County Register)

January 10, 2020

• Simi Valley Looking at $158.8 Million in Unfunded Pension Liability, Considering a $150 Million POB (Melissa Simon / The Acorn)
• She Says Her Pension Should Be Bigger. CalPERS Says She Was a Bad Boss (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

January 9, 2020

• The Governor’s Budget Is Coming (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Data on CalSavers' First 6 Months Released (John Iekel / American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)
• West Contra Costa School District Putting a Half-Billion Bond Before Voters in March (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• What the Illinois Supreme Court Said About Pensions - And Why It Matters (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

January 8, 2020

• Calpensions Wrap-Up: A Look Back at California's 'Crisis’ (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• Risk of Pension Meltdown Grows as Congress Fails to Act (Mark Miller / MSN Money)
• Corporate Pensions See an Overall Investment Gain of 15.66% in 2019, But Funding Still Drops Due to Discount Rate Lows (press release - Milliman)
• US Musicians Are Told to Expect Lower Pensions (Norman Lebrecht / Slipped Disc)
• Arizona State Pension Is Headed for 'Complete Desperation,’ Research Group Warns (Steffan Navedo-Perez / Chief Investment Officer)
• With the Pension Tsunami Reaching Shore, California Can’t Afford Tens of Billions in New Spending (editorial - San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Sheriff’s Lt. Convicted in Illegal-Guns Case Retires, Could Have $11,600 Monthly Pension Reduced (Jeff McDonald / San Diego Union-Tribune)
• GOLDEN OLDIE: Police Pensions and Voodoo Actuarials (Steven Greenhut / New Geography)

January 7, 2020

• Sen. John Moorlach’s 2019 Financial Soundness Rankings for California’s 482 Cities (Katy Grimes / California Globe)
• Duncan Hunter Will Probably Get His Congressional Pension Despite Guilty Plea (Charles T. Clark & Morgan Cook / Los Angeles Times)
• New York City’s Unfunded OPEB Liability Surpasses $100 Billion (Marc Joffe / Reason Foundation)
• The Public Pension Funding Crisis and the First Law of Holes (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• California’s Long Track Record of Promises Made, But Not Kept (op-ed - Dan Walters / Daily Breeze)
• California’s Free Community College Plan Collides With Unfunded Liabilities (op-ed - Allan Wheeler / Orange County Register)

January 6, 2020

• Public Employee Strike Looms in Santa Clara County (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Simi Valley Pension Obligation Bonds: A Risky Financing Maneuver Without a Public Vote (op-ed - David Grau / Ventura County Star)

January 4, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Communities Are the Winners of New Federal Law to Save Local Journalism (editorial - Seattle Times)

January 3, 2020

• Will California’s Politicians Make Better Choices This Year? (editorial - Orange County Register)
• State Pension Funds Adjust to 'New Normal’ of Lower Returns (Michael Katz / Chief Investment Officwe)
• Strong Returns Have Not Improved Funded Status for Corporate Pensions (Alicia McElhaney / Institutional Investor)

January 2, 2020

• Huntington Beach’s Pension Bond Proposal Feels Like Déjà Vu (John Moorlach & Shari Freidenrich / Daily Pilot)
• Do Public Pension Shortfalls Mean You’ll Face a Tax Hike? (Craig Eyermann / Independent Institute)
• Illinois Governor Pritzker Signs Pension Sweetener Bill Without Knowing the Cost (Adam Schuster / Illinois Policy)
• Report: A College Basketball or Football Coach Is the Highest-Paid Public Employee in 40 States (Aaron Mesh / Willamette Week)
• Congress Saves Coal Miner Pensions, But What About Others? (Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• Rep. Hunter to Resign After Holidays: May Forfeit Congressional Pension (Miriam Raftery / East County Magazine)

January 1, 2020

• Happy New Year!

December 31, 2019

• How to Survive the Coming Retirement Crisis (Allison Schrager / Quartz)

December 30, 2019

• States Are Already Paying for Unfunded Pensions (Jonathon Platt / Chicago Booth Review)
• Congress Rushes to Bail Out Miners’ Pensions But Ignores Larger Retirement Crisis (Rebecca Rainey / Politico)
• New York Pols Keep Digging the State’s Pension Hole Deeper (editorial - New York Post)
• No Easy Answers to Solving Illinois State Pension Crisis, Attorney Who Fought Pension Reform Says (Karen Kidd / Cook County Record)

December 27, 2019

• Convicted or Charged, San Diego County Sheriff’s Employees Risk Loss of Pension Benefits (Jeff McDonald / San Diego Union-Tribune)
• What Happens to Your CalPERS Pension After a Divorce? It’s Complicated. (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

December 26, 2019

• Why States Must Address Public Pension Reform Now, Before It's Too Late (op-ed - Keith Greinet & Seth Grove / Washington Times)
• Illinois Pension Debt Soars to $137 Billion (blog - Mike Shedlock / MishTalk)
• The Only Way Out of Our Multi-Employer Pension Crisis Is Through Bipartisan Compromise (editorial - Washington Post)
• Multiemployer Pension Bailout Activity (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)

December 24, 2019

• Here's to a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year!
• Overtime on NY Pensions Could Cost Taxpayers Up to $54 Billion Over Decades: Study (Carl Campanile & Aaron Feis / New York Post)

December 23, 2019

• Is Vacaville, California on the Road to Bankruptcy? (op-ed - Danny Wells / Daily Republic)
• Climate Change Is Coming for California’s Pensions (editorial - San Francisco Chroncle)

December 22, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Public Pensions: An Economic Time Bomb (video - Joshua Rauh / PragerU)

December 20, 2019

• PBGC Report Reminds Manufacturers of the Coming Threat (Matthew Miklave / JD Supra)
• READ THE REPORT: PBGC Annual Report 2019 (pdf - Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
• Angry French Pensioners Offer the World a Warning (Andreas Kluth / Bloomberg)
• These Southern California Inland Agencies Have the Highest Unfunded Pension Debt (Beau Yarbrough / Press-Enterprise)
• NEW ISSUE BRIEF: State Pension Funds Reduce Assumed Rates of Return (Pew Charitable Trusts)
• Year-End Spending Deal Includes Massive Taxpayer-Funded Bailout for Bankrupt Mine Workers Union Pension Fund (Mark Tapscott / The Epoch Times)
• Late Night Contract Talks Net 8% Raise for California State Hospital, Prison Workers (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Threat to California’s Credit Grows From Troubled $1 Billion State Accounting Program (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

December 19, 2019

• Pensions, Prisons and Extra-Long Commutes: Our Top 2019 California State Worker Stories (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• California Blocks Release of Spending Records (Yuichiro Kakutani / Washington Free Beacon)
• State Can Help Pay UC, CSU's Pension Costs, Says Report by California Legislative Analyst’s Office (EdSource)
• Teachers Pay High Fees for Retirement Funds. Unions Are Partly to Blame. (Anne Tergesen & Gretchen Morgenson / Wall Street Journal)
• Illinois Governor Signs Pension Consolidation Measure, But Alderman Warns It’s Not Enough (Greg Bishop / The Center Square)
• Illinois State Retirement Systems Overview (pdf - Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability)
• Breaking News: Senate Acts (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)

December 18, 2019

• California Court of Appeal Rejects Time-Barred Challenge to Sonoma County’s 2002 Grant of Enhanced Retirement Benefits (Nossaman LLP / JD Supra)
• Santa Cruz City Schools Asks Voters to Indefinitely Extend Parcel Taxes (Nicholas Ibarra / Santa Cruz Sentinel)
• Miners' Pensions Secured (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• NEW BRIEF: 'How Big Is the Government Subsidy for Medicare Part D?' (Alicia H. Munnell, Gal Wettstein & Wenliang Hou / Center for Retirement Research)

December 17, 2019

• What Does 'The Irishman' Have to Do With Congress’ Latest Spending Bill? (Rachel Greszler / The Daily Signal)
• Pressure Builds to Solve Illinois' Public Pension Crisis (editorial - Daily Herald)
• Negative Interest Rates Are Destroying Our Pensions (Mark Gilbert / Bloomberg)
• Why Corrupt Public Employees in Hawaii Keep Their Pensions (Christina Jedra / Honolulu Civil Beat)
• France Pension Protests: Why Unions Are Up in Arms Against Macron (Aurelien Breeden / New York Times)

December 16, 2019

• Almost $14 Billion Pulled From CalPERS Equity Managers (Randy Diamond / Chief Investment Officer)

December 14, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Pensions Are a Present Obligation (Sheila Weinberg / Truth in Accounting)

December 13, 2019

• What, Us Worry? California Lawmakers Still Ignoring Dark Pension Clouds. (Steven Greenhut / Reason)
• Government Credit Ratings Vulnerable to Downside Pension Risk -- Moody’s (James Comtois / Pensions & Investments)
• California’s Accounting System Cost Taxpayers $1.1 Billion and Still Can’t Produce a State Checkbook (Adam Andrzejewski / Forbes)
• French Workers Strike to Keep Their Lavish Pensions; Proposed Reforms Will Coddle the Old and Squeeze the Young (The Economist)
• L.A. Councilman Asks City to Divest Public Pensions From Oil, Gas Companies (Los Angeles Daily News)
• Puerto Rico Government Launches Defined Contribution Program for 110,000 Employees (José Alvarado Vega / Caribbean Business)

December 12, 2019

• Update on the Senate Multiemployer Pension Rescue Proposal: The NCCMP’s Point of View (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• Town of Moraga, California Seeks Citizen Input Regarding Unfunded Needs Assessments (Vera Kochan / Lamorinda Weekly)
• City of St. Helena, California Steps Up Contribution to Unfunded Pension Liabilities (Jesse Duarte / St. Helena Star)
• Retired City Workers Get '13th Check’ Year-End Bonus, Even With Pension Shortfall at $3 Billion (Lauryn Schroeder / San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Firefighter Overtime Surged 65% in a Decade, Costing California $5 Billion a Year in Wages (Matt Stiles / Los Angeles Times)
• New Deal Gives Sacramento Firefighters Raises, Homebuying Perk (Firehouse)
• Nothing Is Sacred for New Leader of CalPERS (Heather Gillers & Dawn Lim / Wall Street Journal)$$

December 11, 2019

• The Soaring Cost of California Pensions Is Hurting Employers and Taking Away Minority Contracts (The Sacramento Observer)
• Another Price Increase? Some With CalPERS Long-Term Care Insurance Face Sticker Shock (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• 15% Teacher Raises Doomed Sacramento City School Budget, Says State Auditor (Nick Cahill / Courthouse News Service)
• Sacramento Schools Should Consider Cuts to Teacher Salaries, State Audit Suggests (Sawsan Morrar / Sacramento Bee)
• Do Your Own Digging on California's Pension Liabilities (David Crane / Medium)
• Big Raises, $10,000 to Buy a Home in Sacramento: City Firefighters Will Get Salary Boost (Theresa Clift / Sacramento Bee)

December 10, 2019

• 'It's Really Over': Corporate Pensions Head for Extinction as Nature of Retirement Plans Changes (Nathan Bomey / USA Today)
• Pension Strikes Cripple Paris, More Travel Woes Ahead (Nadine Achoui-Lesage & Angela Charlton / Star Tribune)
• With France in Uproar Over Pensions, Macron May Need One Early (Adam Nossiter / New York Times)
• Lessons From Orange County’s 1994 Bankruptcy (op-ed - John Moorlach / Orange County Register)
• Governments Urged to Bolster Pensions to Adapt to Aging World (Michael Katz / Chief Investment Officer)
• Riverside County to Vote on $145 Million Worth of Salary Increases for Deputy Sheriffs (Sam Metz / Desert Sun)
• One-Fifth of CalPERS Equity Portfolio Faces Climate Change Risk (Randy Diamond / Chief Investment Officer)

December 9, 2019

• California Town Paying Police More in Pensions Than Salary (editorial - Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• 'Tax Exhaustion' May Be on the Horizon (editorial - CALmatters)
• READ THE REPORT: CalPERS '2019 Annual Review of Funding Levels and Risks' (pdf - California Public Employees’ Retirement System)

December 8, 2019

• SUNDAY WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: It's a Bait and Switch on California's Public Pensions (Dan Walters / CALmatters)

December 7, 2019

• SATURDAY WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: True to Form, California Lawmakers Ignore Dark Pension Clouds (op-ed - Steven Greenhut / Orange County Register)

December 6, 2019

• Kern County Fire Department's Pensions (Burn Notice / KGET-TV)
• California's State Analyst Recommends Increase to School District Pension Funding (Aidan Freeman / Record-Bee)
• CalSTRS Goes Green With Muni Bond Debut (Bloomberg)
• McClatchy Seeks to Avoid the Fate of Other Regional News Chains; Pension Obligations Weigh on Stock Price (Joe Nocera / Bloomberg)

December 5, 2019

• Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti Blinks at Worker Benefit Reform (Joel Fox / Fox & Hounds)
• Why the US Pension System May Need a Federal Bailout (video - MarketBrief / Barron's)
• France Shuts Down: Mass Strike Hits Trains, Eiffel Tower Over Plan to Overhaul Pension System (Angela Charlton & Sylvie Corbet / Associated Press)
• A Look at France's Heated Debate Over Pensions (Associated Press / Daily Herald)
• Ex-Chicago Police Commander Spared Prison for Collecting Dead Mom’s Social Security Checks for Years (Jason Meisner / Chicago Tribune)
• Can the Government Tell if You'ee Dead or Alive? (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

December 4, 2019

• CalPERS Fires Most of Its Equity Managers (Randy Diamond / Chief Investment Officer)
• 'This Was Not a Close Election’: Losing CalPERS Candidate Drops Challenge (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Clock Ticks on Connecticut's Pension Bomb (Chris Powell / Republican American)
• Connecticut's Pension Debacle Worsens But State Capitol Just Ignores It (Chris Powell / Journal Inquirer)
• 'Peak’ Private-Equity Fears Are Spreading Across Pension World (Anchalee Worrachate & John Gittelsohn / Bloomberg)

December 3, 2019

• Aunt Becky and the 'Underpaid Teachers’ Myth (Andrew G. Biggs / National Review)
• Pension Liabilities Are Cause for Concern (letter - San Diego Union-Tribune)

December 2, 2019

• San Mateo's Government Officials Face Growing Pension Costs (Anna Schuessler / San Mateo Daily Journal)
• Will California Schools Get More State Aid? (Dan Walters / CALmatters)
• Gavin Newsom’s Climate Order Focuses on Pensions and Roads. What Does It Mean for Taxpayers? (column - Adam Ashton / Sacramento Bee)
• CalPERS, Just Missing Target, Broadens Its Investment Strategies (Steffan Navedo-Perez / Chief Investment Officer)
• Defined Benefit Plan Cash Flow Needs Are Greater Than Ever (Rebecca Moore / PlanSponsor)
• PBGC's Good News Could Sour Quickly (Hazel Bradford / Pensions & Investments)

November 28, 2019

• Pension Reform Waits for California Supreme Court (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Thanksgiving and the Birth of American Free Enterprise (Richard M. Ebeling / American Institute for Economic Research)
• Happy Thanksgiving! We'll be back on Monday . . .

November 27, 2019

• CalPERS' Numbers Tell Costly Pension Story (editorial - Press Democrat)
• Most City Workers Pay $0 in Healthcare Premiums. Garcetti Said He’d Change That. He Hasn’t (Dakota Smith / Los Angeles Times)

November 26, 2019

• Will Negative Rates Finally Kill Defined Benefit Pensions? (Paul Jacobs / Palisades Hudson Financial Group)
• Divestment Won’t Fight Climate Change (op-ed - Robert L. Bradley Jr. / Daily Independent)
• CalPERS Police-Fire Pension Costs Hit 'Unsustainable’ Level (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)

November 25, 2019

• 'Their House Is on Fire': The Pension Crisis Sweeping the World (Josephine Cumbo & Robin Wigglesworth / Los Angeles Times)
• Are Taxpayers Ready to Foot the Bill for School Pensions? (editorial - Marin Independent Journal)
• Connecticut State and Local Unfunded Retirement Obligations Top $124 Billion (Marc Fitch / Yankee Institute)
• Why Does Elizabeth Warren Hate Public Pension Funds? (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• Sacramento Sheriff Attacks McClatchy, as Company’s Pension and Debt Burdens Pile Up (Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee)
• At Long Last: US Senate Moves Forward With a Multiemployer Pension Rescue (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

November 23, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: California’s Spending Boom Masks a Spate of Problems (op-ed - Steven Malanga / Wall Street Journal)

November 22, 2019

• The Cost to Taxpayers of Enhancing Sonoma County Employee Pensions (Edward Ring / Fox & Hounds)
• California’s Pension Systems Need to Continue Reducing Risk (op-ed - Leonard Gilroy and Zachary Christensen / Orange County Register)
• Why Millennials Should Care About Government Pensions -- Even If They Don’t Have One (Jen Sidorova / MarketWatch)
• Pension Reform Newsletter for November 2019 (Zachary Christensen - Reason Foundation)
• Management Failing to Do Job in Public-Pension Governance (op-ed - Bob Bunnell / Marin Independent Journal)
• How California Governments Will Be Able to Hide Files From the Public (op-ed - Robert Fellner / San Diego Union-Tribune)

November 21, 2019

• California Has Huge Budget Surplus, But Does Pension Debt Spoil the News? (Tim Lantz / iHeart Media)
• California School Funding in 2020-21: Not Much of an Extra $3.4 Billion to Spare After Paying Pension Expenses (John Fensterwald / EdSource)
• Plan to Proposed Shore Up Failing Multiemployer Pension System (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• New York Double-Dippers Increased by 10% Last Year (Caitlin Gilligan / Empire Center)

November 20, 2019

• CalPERS Retiree Returned to Work for Twice the Pay, Flouting Law. He Wants to Keep the Money (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Alarming PBGC 2019 Annual Report (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• 'F--- the POA' Is a Slogan With Power; POAs Are at the Heart of California's Pension Crisis (Joe Mathews / Fox & Hounds)
• Report: Multiple Riverside County Agencies Require Funding Boosts (Patch)
• Huntington Beach Will Move Forward on Refinancing $436 Million in Pension Debt (Julia Sclafani / Daily Pilot)
• Average 2018 Health Costs for California Cities (Transparent California)

November 19, 2019

• Netherlands Headed for Unprecedented Crisis: Millions of Retirees Face Pensions Cuts Thanks to the ECB (Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge)
• Why 2 Firefighters Say CalPERS Should Let Them Keep $70,000 in Pension Overpayments (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• General Electric's Pension Changes Provide a Lesson for Maryland (op-ed - Carol Park / Washington Examiner)

November 18, 2019

• Report: Exploding Pension Costs Fuel Opposition to Marin School Parcel Taxes (Keri Brenner / Marin Independent Journal)
• Sacramento’s School District: A Model of Mismanagement (Dan Walters / CALmatters)
• CalPERS Falling Short of Private Equity Goals (Steffan Navedo-Perez and Randy Diamond / Chief Investment Officer)

November 16, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Huntington Beach Officials Want to Refinance the City’s $1.35 Billion Pension Debt (Julia Sclafani / Daily Pilot)

November 15, 2019

• California Court Wrongly Halts Public Pension Info (editorial - Orange County Register)

November 14, 2019

• Pension Costs Feed Resistance to Higher School Taxes in Marin County, California, Study Finds (John Fensterwald / EdSource)
• READ THE REPORT: 'The Canary in the Gold Mine: The Implications of Marin’s Rising Pension Costs and Tax Revolt for Increasing Education Funding'
• California Passed a Law Letting Troops Buy CalPERS Pensions. It Has Never Worked (Adam Ashton / Merced Sun-Star)

November 13, 2019

• California Cities and Schools Are in Financial Distress; Pensions Are a Major Driver (Dan Walters / CALmatters)
• What Do You Know, L.A. Is in Financial Peril Again (editorial - Los Angeles Times)
• Los Angeles City Budget Situation Reflects a Sad Reality of Today’s Politics (Joel Fox / Fox & Hounds)
• Public Paychecks: Highest-Paid Folsom City Employees (Sharon Havranek / Sacramento Business Journal)
• CalPERS Disability Status Is Protected. Read the Judge’s Ruling (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

November 12, 2019

• California’s $100K Pension Club Grows as Tax Hikes Mount (editorial - Orange County Register)
• CalPERS Candidate Wants Re-Do in Election He Lost, Saying Pension Fund Broke the Law. Read His Letter (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Anchorage Should Think Twice About Pension-Debt Deal (op-ed - Peter J. Caltagirone / Stock Daily Dish)
• 6 Things Every American Should Know About Congress’ Bailout for Select Coal Miners’ Pensions (Rachel Greszler / The Daily Signal)

November 11, 2019

• Why Raise Property Taxes When Revenues Are Way Up? (op-ed - Jon Coupal / Orange County Register)
• Pensions and Retirement Funds Put Culver City in Debt (Dennis J. Freeman / Culver City Observer)
• Pension Bailouts Could Raise the National Debt by $7 Trillion (Rachel Greszler / The Daily Signal)
• Court Ruling Threatens to Gut California's Public Records Law (Robert Fellner / Transparent California)
• Disability Status for CalPERS Retirees Must Remain Private, Court Rules (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Pension Funds Could Lose Some Shareholder Clout (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• Former California Pension Leader Says CalPERS Broke Election Law, Wants Result Overturned (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• New Health Care Perk for 102,000 California State Workers, Explained (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• California’s Massive Public Pension Liabilities Offer a Warning to Other States (Mike LaChance / Legal Insurrection)
• The End to the Chicago Teacher Strike Underscores Pension Crisis (blog - Peter Klensch / Citizens Against Government Waste)

November 9, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Disability Status for CalPERS Retirees Must Remain Private, Court Rules (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

November 8, 2019

• San Rafael Cries Foul Over Pension Rating (editorial - Marin Independent Journal)
• California Taxpayers on the Hook for Six-Figure Government Pensions (Yuichiro Kakutani / Washington Free Beacon)

November 7, 2019

• Los Angeles Has Spent More Than $2 Billion in Overtime Payments for City Workers (David Goldstein / CBS)
• L.A. Firefighter Banked $360,010 in Overtime Pay in One Year, City Audit Finds (Dakota Smith / Los Angeles Times)
• Overtime Costs for Los Angeles a Bigger Share of Payroll Than in New York, San Francisco (Elizabeth Chou / Daily News)
• California Wants All the Money, Chicago Needs All the Money (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• PENSION PULSE: CalSTRS Sees a Big Drop in Carried Interest (blog - Leo Kolivakis)
• PBGC Fund Could Be Tapped for Bailout of Multiemployer Pension Funds (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)

November 6, 2019

• Pensions, General Funds Pose Financial Risks for Grass Valley, Nevada City (John Orona / The Union)
• Marysville, Yuba City Push Back Against Financial Report (Jack Abbott / Appeal-Democrat)
• California State Auditor's Local Government High-Risk Dashboard

November 5, 2019

• Nearly 80,000 California Retirees Are Receiving Pensions of $100,000 or More, New Data Show (Transparent California)
• CSU Professor Lost a Cut of His CalPERS Pension. 5 of His Peers With the Same Deal Kept Theirs (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Santa Cruz County Cities Earn Red Flags in State Auditor’s Fiscal Health Analysis (Jessica A. York / Santa Cruz Sentinel)
• Take Politics Out of Public Pension Plans (Christopher Burnham / Forbes)
• Falling Interest Rates Wreak Havoc in US Pension System (Chris Flood / Financial Times)
• Lindsay Among Most Fiscally Challenged California Cities (The Sun Gazette)
• San Rafael Protests No. 1 Ranking for Pension Debt in California (Keri Brenner / Marin Independent Journal)
• Peoria’s Public Pension Crisis Continues (op-ed - Nagaraju Rayani / Journal Star)

November 4, 2019

• California Pension Costs Hitting Home -- Hard (Dan Walters / CALmatters)
• Pension Reform Newsletter for October 2019 (Zachary Christensen - Reason Foundation)

November 2, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: We Need Trump to Renegotiate These California Government Employee Contracts (op-ed - Patricia Suzanne / The Signal)

November 1, 2019

• California Pension Funds Should Focus on Improving Funded Ratios, Not Politics (op-ed - Zachary Christensen / Orange County Register)
• Ohio May Cut Pension Benefits for New Government Workers (Laura A. Bischoff / Dayton Daily News)
• Illinois Cities' Police and Fire Pension Costs Are Growing Faster Than Property Taxes (Tim Jones & Jared Rutecki / Crain's Chicago Business)
• Culver City's Council Declares Fiscal Emergency, Paving Way for Possible Extension of Sales Tax (Stephen Hadland / Culver City Observer)
• Divestment Won't Fight Climate Change (op-ed - Robert L. Bradley Jr. / Washington Examiner)
• Barriers to Fully Funding Public Pensions (Tom Kozlik / Hilltop Securities)
• Largest Private Coal Miner in US Files for Bankruptcy; UMW Pension Plan a Concern (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)

October 31, 2019

• Where Public Pension Funding Went Awry (Paul Burton / The Bond Buyer)$$
• Taking a Peek Inside Los Angeles County's $60 Billion Pension Fund LACERA (video - Bloomberg)

October 30, 2019

• California Cities' Finances Squeezed by Pensions (Joel Fox / Fox & Hounds)
• America’s (and California's) Halloween-Scary Debt Crisis (editorial - Lompoc Record)

October 29, 2019

• Amid Recession Fear, Many California Cities Are in Fiscal Peril (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Most California Cities Are at Fiscal Risk Due to Pensions. Will the State Supreme Court Rescue Them? (editorial - San Diego Union-Tribune)

October 28, 2019

• Pensions and Other Fiscal Risks Have Put at Least 18 California Cities on Shaky Ground (Judy Lin & Elizabeth Castillo / CALmatters)
• Next Time the Chicago Teachers Union Says Its Teachers Don’t Get Social Security, Show This Graphic (Ted Dabrowski & John Klingner / Wirepoints)
• Second Chance for a Major Ruling by the California Supreme Court on Pension Cuts (blog - Ed Mendel / Calpensions)
• Proposition 13 Overhaul Is Pension Bailout in Disguise (op-ed - Corrin Rankin / Orange County Register)
• How More Than Half of California’s Cities Came to Be at Risk for Fiscal Trouble (editorial - San Francisco Chronicle)
• El Cajon Has One of the Highest Pension Obligation Risks in California (Maya Srikrishnan & Ashly McGlone / Voice of San Diego)
• Chicago's Death Spiral: There's No Can Left to Kick (blog - Mike Shedlock / Mish Talk)
• The States Where Taxpayers Should Worry Most About Public Employee Pensions (Doug Whiteman / MoneyWise)

October 26, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Proposition 13 Overhaul Is Pension Bailout in Disguise (op-ed - Corrin Rankin / Orange County Register)

October 25, 2019

• As California Economy Booms, Cities Struggle With Pensions (Adam Beam / Associated Press)
• California State Auditor's Local Government High-Risk Dashboard
• Marin Councilmen Maintain Push for Pension Reform (Richard Halstead / Marin Independent Journal)
• San Diego Ranks Last Among County’s Cities in Overall Fiscal Health, State Auditor Says (Charles T. Clark / San Diego Union-Tribune)

October 24, 2019

• Wyoming's Senator Enzi Criticizes Pension Bailout Bill, Saying It Would Cost Taxpayers (Brendan LaChance / Oil City News)
• Pension Guru Girard Miller Resurfaces With a New Book on Public Finance
• Low Returns for Public Pensions Threaten Future Retirees (Jen Sidorova / MarketWatch)
• Chicago’s New Mayor Grapples With Nation’s Worst Pension Debt (Heather Gillers / Wall Street Journal)

October 23, 2019

• No Will on Pension Reform (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• When the Money Runs Out: Some Thoughts on Public Finance and Pensions (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

October 22, 2019

• How to Fix Government Employee Pensions (Craig Eyermann / Independent Institute)
• 10 States With the Worst Pension Funding (Marlene Satter / BenefitsPro)
• How GE Shafted Its Retirees (John Mauldin / Forbes)
• California State Worker Raises to Cost $5.6 Billion Under Gavin Newsom’s New Contracts (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• CalPERS Sells Holdings in Private Prison Firms (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• CalPERS Pulls Millions of Dollars Out of Immigrant Detention Companies (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Property Taxes and Pensions in California (letter - Bakersfield Californian)

October 21, 2019

• Palo Alto Police Sergeant Federally Sued for Mocking and Beating a Gay Man Retires With $118,000 Annual Pension (Maggie Angst / Mercury News)
• California Is in Big Trouble Again (Noah Smith / Bloomberg)
• Pension Costs Continue to Drive Tax Hikes Across California (column - Susan Shelley / Orange County Register)

October 19, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Pension Costs Continue to Drive Tax Hikes Across California (column - Susan Shelley / Orange County Register)

October 18, 2019

• CalPERS' Skyrocketing Pension Costs: 'Like Being Strapped onto a Roller Coaster and You Can't Get Off the Thing' (John Burns / Argus-Courier)
• Taxpayers United on Illinois Governor's Pension Consolidation Plan: 'The Pension Funds Are Doomed' (Greg Bishop / The Center Square)
• Pension Issues Lead to Cutbacks for East St. Louis Fire Department (Chris Regnier / Fox 2)
• Study Says Connecticut Teachers Pension Problems Still Not Solved (Christopher Keating / Hartford Courant)
• Oregon Teachers Union Won't Fund Candidates Who Voted for Public Pension Reforms (Claire Withycombe / Corvallis Gazette-Times)
• Top Two Dutch Pension Funds Warn of Impending Payout Cuts (Toby Sterling / Reuters)

October 17, 2019

• Palo Alto Explores New Ways to Settle Giant Pension Bill (Gennady Sheyner / Palo Alto Weekly)
• Peoria Leaders to Discuss Raising Taxes for Public Safety Pensions (Morgan McHugh / Central Illinois Proud)
• Pension Crisis Forces Firehouse Closure, 9 Firefighter Layoffs in East St. Louis (Brad Weisenstein / Illinois Policy)
• Embattled Former Chicago Alderman Uses Loophole to Double Pension (Dane Placko / Fox 32)

October 16, 2019

• Offer a Skating Rink, Get a Tax Increase (letter - Chico Enterprise-Record)
• Mobility. Flexibility. Fairness. State Colleges Have These in Their Retirement Plans. Why Don’t K-12 Districts? (Chad Aldeman / The 74)
• US Supreme Court Justices Tackle Bid to Invalidate Puerto Rican Oversight Board (Jack Rodgers / Courthouse News Service)

October 15, 2019

• California Finally Has a Balanced Budget — If You Ignore the Billions in Outstanding Pension Obligations (editorial - Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• GE Joins Corporate Brethren in Trend to Put Defined Benefit Plan in the Rearview Mirror (James Comtois / Pensions & Investments)

October 14, 2019

• Chico, California to Consider Placing Tax Increase on the Ballot (Robin Epley / Chico Enterprise-Record)
• Pensions Primer: Public, Private Single Employer, Multiemployer, and Church Plans -- US Landscape (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• How Well-Funded Are Government Employee Pension Plans in Your State? (Craig Eyermann / Independent Institute)
• How Low Is Low? Projections Say It's Not Low Enough (editorial - Pensions & Investments)
• Court Overrides Oregon Attorney General, Ordering Her to Rewrite 'Misleading’ Draft of Pension Ballot Measure (Ted Sickinger / The Oregonian)
• Pension Obligation Bonds Are a Poor Fix for Pension Debts (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Already in Trouble, Corporate Pension Plans Are Doomed by Low Interest Rates (Allison Schrager / Quartz)
• General Electric's Pension Freeze Represents an Upsetting Trend at American Companies (video - Yahoo Finance)
• GE's Not Alone: 25 Companies That Owe $1 Trillion in Pensions (Matt Krantz / Investor's Business Daily)
• The $67 Billion United Nations Pension Fund: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Loraine Rickard-Martin / Pass Blue)

October 12, 2019

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Pension Obligation Bonds Are a Poor Fix for Pension Debts (editorial - Orange County Register)

October 11, 2019

• Pension Crisis: Montebello Considering Debt Some Think Is Risky (Mike Sprague / San Gabriel Valley Tribune)
• CalPERS Is Heavily Invested in Chinese Companies (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• PENSION PULSE: Fed Warns US Pensions Reaching for Yield (blog - Leo Kolivakis)
• Lessons From Puerto Rico’s Struggles With Debt and Unfunded Pension Liabilities (Thomas Savidge / American Legislative Exchange Council)
• Illinois Bright Idea: Put a Bunch of Underfunded Pension Plans in One Pile (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• The Search for Return Gets More Difficult as More Countries Go Subzero (Bloomberg)
• Social Security: Retiree Checks to Rise 1.6% in 2020 (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Associated Press)
• Pension Obligation Bonds May Soon Have Their Moment (Brian Chappatta / Bloomberg)

Categorized News | Full News Archives