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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 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 February 25 3:16pm PST

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

February 25, 2020

• Updated at 7:40 AM (Pacific) -- FINAL:
• As Pensions Break the Bank, Californians Face More Tax Hikes (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Even More Reasons for Angelenos to Reject Super Tuesday’s Prop 13, the $15 Billion School Bond (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• Updated at 7:10 AM (Pacific):
• Family Crime Drama Illuminates California Pension Crisis (K. Lloyd Billingsley / Independent Institute)
• CalPERS Top Money Man Is Swept Up in Chinese Espionage Fears (John Gittelsohn, Sridhar Natarajan & Jenny Leonard / BloombergQuint)
• The Bottom Line: Illinois’ Public Pension Debt Is a Moral Issue (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• The Moral Case for Pension Reform (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

February 24, 2020

• Children Descend on CalSTRS to Urge Fossil-Fuel Divestment (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• California Does the Two-Step on Adding More Taxes (Susan Shelley / Pasadena Star-News)
• Trump Should Go to War Against Public Employee Pensions (opinion - Douglas MacKinnon / The Hill)

February 21, 2020

• Federal Retirement Benefits on the Chopping Block (John Grobe / FedSmith)

February 20, 2020

• Fewer Prisoners, Bigger California Prison Budgets (editorial - Orange County Register)
• More Older Americans Are on the Job -- And Dying There, Too (Justin Fox / Bloomberg)

February 19, 2020

• Biggest-Ever CalPERS Pension Tops $400,000 Per Year (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

February 18, 2020

• City of Santa Monica Workers Protest Stalled Pension, Healthcare Negotiations (Madeleine Pauker / Santa Monica Daily Press)
• Indiana Congressman Calls on CalPERS CIO to Be Fired (Randy Diamond / Chief Investment Officer)

February 17, 2020

• $418,600 Pension for Former CalPERS Investment Manager Largest Ever, New Data Show (Robert Fellner / Transparent California)

February 15, 2020

• Enjoy the Long President's Day Weekend!

February 14, 2020

• Fighting the One-Party State at the Local Level in California (Edward Ring / California Policy Center)
• Will Migrating Golden State Residents Bring Left-Wing Politics to Their New Homes? Maybe Not. (Steven Malanga / City Journal)

February 13, 2020

• Multiemployer Pension Plans Take Center Stage in 2020 (op-ed - Ross Marchand / Washington Examiner)
• Ex-CHP Chief Who Helped Son Flee to Mexico After Rape Charge Wants His Pension Restored (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Busted California Highway Patrol Boss Aims to Spike State Pension (Lloyd Billingsley / California Globe)
• US Lawmaker Calls for Ouster of CalPERS CIO Over China Ties: Letter (Alexandra Alper / Reuters)
• Newspaper Chain McClatchy Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy After Pension Woes, Print Declines (Nathan Bomey / USA Today)

February 12, 2020

• Curb Oakland Mayor Schaaf’s Insatiable Tax Appetite (editorial - East Bay Times)

February 11, 2020

• Californians Face a Wave of Local Tax Hike Measures (Craig Alexander / California Policy Center)
• Want a Relatively Painless Way to Curb Retiree Health Care Costs? Look to North Carolina (Daniel DiSalvo / Manhattan Institute)

February 10, 2020

• Disinformation in Sacramento (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• US Cities Look to Marijuana Taxes for Help (Heather Gillers / Marianas Variety)
• Lawsuit Targeting Sonoma County Pension Hikes Seeks Hearing From California Supreme Court (Will Schmitt / The Press Democrat)

February 7, 2020

• Public Pension Funding Levels Are Not Improving Despite Efforts (Michelle Jones / Value Walk)
• San Jose Schools Are Asking Voters for More Than $600 Million. What Will They Do With It? (John Koli / Moose Gazette)
• CalPERS Board President Wants Transparency in Second Term (Randy Diamond / Chief Investment Officer)

February 6, 2020

• California Communities See Increases in Pension Costs (Mitchell Hartman / Marketplace)
• Californians Face a Wave of Local Tax Hike Measures (editorial - Lake County Record-Bee)
• Developments on the Ohio Pension Crisis Are Encouraging (column - John Damschroder / Fremont News-Messenger)
• Massachusetts State Police Overtime Scandal: As Troopers Are Sentenced, Here Is the Status of Their Pensions (Scott J. Croteau / Masslive.com)
• NFL Players Pension Red Zone (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Public Pension Debt Burden Needs Reboot (editorial - Boston Herald)
• Outrage Over Mariposa Supervisors’ $30,000 Raise Drives Referendum Campaign (Daniel Gligich / San Joaquin Valley Sun)

February 5, 2020

• Riverside County Seeks Strategy to Pay $3.5 Billion Pension Debt (City News Service / NBC Los Angeles)
• Connecticut Has $33 Billion in Unfunded OPEB Liability, According to Report (Marc E. Fitch / Yankee Institute)
• New MBTA Pension Report Shows Many Retire at 50 … or Younger (Joe Dwinell / Boston Herald)

February 4, 2020

• Californians Face a Wave of Local Tax Hike Measures (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Measure I: Lompoc Officials Push for Sales Tax Increase, While Some Residents Express Concerns (Willis Jacobson / Santa Maria Times)
• $52.7 Million in Unanticipated Revenue Fills Riverside County Coffers, But Anticipated Costs Increase at Levels Greater Than Revenue (Patch.com)
• Is Your City’s Pension Fund a Little Short? Marijuana Might Help (Heather Gillers / Wall Street Journal)
• Teens Drench Themselves in Fake Oil in Climate Change Protest at CalSTRS Headquarters (Andrew Sheeler / Sacramento Bee)

February 3, 2020

• Why Funded Status Matters (Equable)
• SF Corruption Probe: How Long Will Nuru Hang on to His Job, and Will He Keep His Pension? (Dominic Fracassa / San Francisco Chronicle)
• Chula Vista Bond Measure Could Build Affordable Housing for Teachers and Staff (Joe Hong / KPBS)

February 1, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Local Voters Are Being Asked to Approve $17 Billion in School Construction Bonds. Much of It Is Unneeded (Marc Joffe / CALmatters)

January 31, 2020

• The Downward Trend in US Life Expectancy and Its Uncertain Impacts on Public Pensions (Marc Joffe / Reason Foundation)
• Disgraced Congressmen Would Lose Their Pensions for Campaign Crimes Under This Bill (Kate Irby / Modesto Bee)
• Republican Deficit Hypocrisy Will Make America's Debt Problems Much Harder to Solve (Peter Suderman / Reason)

January 30, 2020

• For Many California Cities, New Year Brings Higher Pension Bills (Romy Varghese / Bloomberg)
• Pension Reform Newsletter for January 2020 (Reason Foundation)
• South Carolina Governor Calls for Closure of Defined Benefit Pension Plan (Michael Katz / Chief Executive Officer)
• Six Key Charts That Prove Why There Is No Alternative to Pension Reform in Illinois (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: Pension Millionaires (Eric Allie / Illinois Policy)
• Rising Pension Costs an Issue as Forum Gets Torrance Municipal Election Season Under Way (Nick Green / Daily Breeze)
• Ohio Pension Plan Would Disclose Manager Fees, Livestream Meetings Under New Legislation (Steffan Navedo-Perez / Chief Investment Officer)

January 29, 2020

• Some Big Cities in California Still Struggling Under Mountain of Debt (Teri Sforza / Orange County Register)
• Suing California to Produce a State Checkbook (Adam Andrzejewski / Real Clear Politics)

January 28, 2020

• 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)
• 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)
• 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)

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