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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, multi-employer pension funds, social security and international trends. Now finishing its 17th year, PensionTsunami was founded by and is edited by Jack Dean. (Contact: JackDean-at-PensionTsunami-dot-com or @PensionTsunami)

Latest Newsclips     last updated June 14 12:47pm PST

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

June 14, 2021

• US House Prices Are Being Pushed Up by Pension Funds Outbidding Middle Class Families (Adam Schrader / Daily Mail)
• Pensions Under Fire After PE Underperforms (Adam Lewis / PitchBook)
• The Latest Pension Reform News from Around the Nation -- Updated Regularly (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / Actuarial News)
• California Pension-Related News -- Updated Regularly (Jodi Morales / Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans)
• The Pension Integrity Project (Reason Foundation)
• LOOK UP Pension Amounts for Retired California State and Local Public Employees (database - Transparent California)

June 11, 2021

• How California Detects Fiscal Distress in Local Governments (Jeff Chapman / Pew Charitable Trusts)
• Cranston, Rhode Island Mayor Defends Unusually Rosy Forecast for Pension Plan (Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV)

June 10, 2021

• National Public Pension Coalition vs. Truth in Accounting: Who Is Accurate With Public Pension Unfunded Debt? (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• Supreme Court Justices Deny Look at Lennar’s Alleged $1 Billion CalPERS Fraud (Alex Wolf / Bloomberg Law)
• US Public Sector Pension Funding Improved During the Pandemic Year (Andrea Riquier / MarketWatch)

June 9, 2021

• California Prison Guards to Get $5,000 Bonus, Raises in Deal With Newsom Administration (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• How State Pension Funding Ratios Have Declined Over Time (Jordan Campbell & Zachary Christensen / Reason Foundation)

June 8, 2021

• Annual Survey of Public Pensions: Summary Report: 2020 (United States Census Bureau)

June 7, 2021

• Rising Pension Costs in Santa Cruz: Your Questions Answered (Kara Meyberg Guzman /
• The California Budget Speaks Again (op-ed - Joe Mathews / San Francisco Chronicle)

June 4, 2021

• Rhode Island Lawmakers Incentivize Providence on Pension Borrowing (Paul Burton / the Bond Buyer)
• Oregon Pension Board to Meet for Important Decision That Could Ratchet Up Costs for Schools and Public Agencies (Ted Sickinger / Oregonian)

June 3, 2021

• The Rhetoric Does Not Match the Arithmetic on Public Pensions (column - Patrick Cloney / Eureka Times-Standard)
• How Well-Funded Are Pension Plans in Your State? (Janelle Cammenga / Tax Foundation)

June 2, 2021

• Internal Documents Show How Pennsylvania’s Biggest Pension Fund Got Key Financial Calculation Wrong (Couloumbis, DiStefano & McCoy / WITF)

June 1, 2021

• Solano County Grand Jury Report Urges Vacaville to Stay on Top of Unfunded Liabilities (Nick Sestanovich /The Reporter)
• Generous Pension, Poor Investments Left Kern Co. Taxpayers With Ballooning Burden, Grand Jury Says. (column - Alex Tavlian / The Sun)

May 28, 2021

• California's Pension Crisis (column - Tom Scott / Gold Country Media)
• Why Should Taxpayers Bear CalPERS Risk? (letter - Juanita Sumner / Chico Enterprise-Record)

May 27, 2021

• Hard Lessons From the Coming Public Pension Plan Shortfall (Mark Hilbert / The Street)
• Texas House Gives Initial Approval on Reform of State’s Employees Retirement System Pensions (Wes Rapaport / KXAN)
• Wisconsin Pension System 100% Funded (column - Clint Wolf / Beloit Daily News)

May 26, 2021

• Foster City Uses Funding Surplus to Pay Down Pensions (Curtis Driscoll / San Mateo Daily Journal)
• Detroit Faces Looming Pension Cliff (Detroit Today / WDET Radio)

May 25, 2021

• Inflation-Driven Pressure for Wage Increases Could Squeeze Local Governments' Budgets and Crush Pension Funds (Girard Miller/ Governing)
• Alternative Investment Looting Is Destroying Pension Funds (Edward Siedle / Forbes)

May 21, 2021

• The Impact of Debt (column - Jon Mays / San Mateo Daily Journal)

May 20, 2021

• How to Retire Like a Millionaire (op-ed - Andy Caldwell / Santa Barbara News-Press)
• Georgia House Panel Moves Forward on Bills to Increase Legislator Pensions (James Salzer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

May 18, 2021

• Why Are We Not Talking About California’s Pension Problems? (Cecilia Iglesias / California Globe)

May 17, 2021

• Pensions for Local Public Safety Employees Are Skyrocketing (op-ed - Marcia Fritz / Capitol Weekly)
• Top Paid Los Angeles Lifeguards Earned Up to $392,000 in 2019 (Adam Andrzejewski / Forbes)
• Texas Considers Much Needed Reforms to Employees Retirement System (Leonard Gilroy / Reason Foundation)
• How Did Arizona Succeed With Pension Reform? With One Weird Trick . . . (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

May 14, 2021

• Providence Mayor Elorza Seeks $704-Million Bond for Unfunded Pension Liability (Amy Russo / Providence Journal)

May 13, 2021

• California’s 944 School Districts: Strong Balance Sheets or Drowning in Debt? (John Moorlach / California Globe)
• F.B.I. Asking Questions After a Pension Fund Aimed High and Fell Short (Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• County of Sonoma Provides Retirement System Annual Review (press release - Sonoma County)

May 12, 2021

• Cities Grapple With Stemming Pension Tide (David C.L. Bauer / Journal-Courier)
• Public Pensions Won’t Earn as Much From Investments in the Future. Here’s Why That Matters (Andrea Riquier / MarketWatch)
• To Pay $79 Million Owed to Retirement Fund, Montclair Turns to Pension Bonds (Steve Scauzillo / Daily Bulletin)
• The Wolf at San Jose's Door (David Crane / Medium)

May 11, 2021

• Rubbing Out Central States Debt (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)

May 10, 2021

• Costa Mesa Uses Federal Aid to End Worker Furloughs, Restore Missed Pay (Alicia Robinson / Orange County Register)

May 4, 2021

• Pending Bill Opens Door to Pension Corruption at CalPERS (Dan Walters / CALmatters)
• Pension Obligation Bonds a Bad Idea (letter - Dave Howell / Chico Enterprise-Record)

May 3, 2021

• Pension Plans Heading the Way of the Dodo: What’s Your Plan B? (Peter Reagan / WBAP Radio)
• Your Pension Board Thinks It’s Smarter Than Warren Buffett -- It’s Not (Edward Siedle / Forbes)

April 28, 2021

• It's Time to Rein in the Public Employee Unions (op-ed - James D. Veltmeyer, MD / Trinity Journal)$

April 26, 2021

• Apparently, No One Actually Wants Public Workers to Understand PERS (op-ed - Michael Schaus / Nevada Independent)

April 23, 2021

• Masks for Children, Muzzles for Covid-19 News (op-ed - Jay Bhattacharya / Wall Street Journal)$

April 21, 2021

• Lockdown Watch: A Zero-Risk Society Is Not a Reasonable Policy Proposal (Michael Schaus / Nevada Policy Research Institute)

April 6, 2021

• As of 5:40 AM (Pacific Time):
• LOL: Study Suggests There Is No Imminent Public Pension Crisis (Michael Katz / Chief Investment Officer)
• Multiemployer Pensions: Will the Recent Bailout Destroy Pensions (in the Long Run)? (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

April 1, 2021

• Rethinking Public Employee Retirement Plans (video - Bryan Snyder / Broadcast Retirement Network)
• CalPERS’ Broken Promises Mislead and Shortchange California State Worker Retirees (editorial - Sacramento Bee)
• Rising Costs of CalSTRS Debt Takes Money From Students, Classrooms (op-ed - Leonard Gilroy & Zachary Christensen / Orange County Register)
• Pension Reform Newsletter - Published Monthly (Alix Ollivier / Reason Foundation)

March 31, 2021

• Vermont Breaks the Bailout Code: It Now Has a Surplus It Wants to Use for Public Employee Pensions. (editorial - Wall Street Journal)

March 30, 2021

• COVID Stimulus Won’t Cure the Public Pension Pandemic (op-ed - Daniel J. Smith & Eileen Norcross / Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
• LA's Two Top-Earning Beach Lifeguards Made $400,000 in 2019 -- and 82 Others Made at Least $200,000 (Valerie Edwards / Daily Mail)

March 29, 2021

• Vermont State Employees, in Public Hearing, Call Pension Reform Proposal a 'Betrayal' (Greg Sukiennik / Bennington Banner)
• The Pension Bailout Hidden Within the COVID Relief Bill (op-ed - Peter Roff / The Sentinal)
• Breaking News: Another MPRA Filing to Cut Benefits (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Retired Ohio Teamsters Take Victory Lap After Pension Fix Is Included in American Rescue Plan (Sabrina Eaton / Plain Dealer)

March 26, 2021

• California Is Still in Debt (column - Jon Mays / San Mateo Daily Journal)
• Gov. Newsom and Legislators Have Lots of Money to Spend, Few Strings Attached (Ben Christopher / CALmatters)
• Vermont Lawmakers Pitch Plan to Shore Up Pension Funds (Calvin Cutler / WCAX-TV)
• The Multiemployer Pension Bailout Is Huge. But Here Are the Retirees Still Waiting for Theirs (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• Washington Baits a Financial Trap for States (op-ed - David Guenthner / The Hill)

March 24, 2021

• Stimulus Wrongly Bails Out Multiemployer Pension Funds (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Money -- But No Fixes -- for Multiemployer Plans (editorial - Pensions & Investments)
• Secret CalPERS Meeting on CIO Meng’s Exit Sparks Legal Fight (Bloomberg News)
• CalPERS Board Member Theresa Taylor Outs That a Staff Member Has Committed Fraud; When Will Giant Pension Come Clean? (Yves Smith / Naked Capitalism)
• CIOs Assess How Pension Fund Investors Can Be Successful After COVID-19 (Sarah Min / Chief Investment Officer)

March 23, 2021

• Monterey Peninsula Cities Reeling From Employee Pension Debt (Dennis L. Taylor / Monterey Herald)
• State Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Involving Sonoma County Pension Hikes (Will Schmitt / Press Democrat)
• 'Bad Taste.’ CalPERS Board Regrets Pension Mistakes, But Votes to Deny Retiree Appeals (column - Andrew Sheeler / Sacramento Bee)

March 22, 2021

• Omaha Police Chief to Retire Within Next 5 Years, Will Get Pension of Nearly $15,000 Per Month (Alia Conley / World-Herald)
• State Audit Blames El Cerrito’s Financial Mismanagement for Pushing City Near Bankruptcy (Shomik Mukherjee / East Bay Times)
• She Gave Up a CalPERS Disability Pension to Go Back to Work. Now She Wants It Back (column - Andrew Sheeler / Sacramento Bee)
• CalPERS Search for CIO Comes Up Empty (Preeti Singh / Wall Street Journal)$$
• Huntington Beach Joins Wave of California Pension Bond Sales (Anastasia Bergeron / Bloomberg News)
• Explaining Dangers of Pension Obligation Bond (letter - Juanita Sumner / Chico Enterprise-Record)
• Lawmakers Look to Claw Back Felons’ Pensions (Sophie Cocke / Honolulu Star-Advertiser)$$
• Rethinking Public Employee Retirement Plans (Richard Hiller & Rod Crane / Reason)

March 18, 2021

• Thank Your Kids for Your COVID Handout -- They’ll Be Paying the Price for Years (op-ed - Jacob Sullum / New York Post)
• Democrats’ COVID-19 Relief Plan Penalizes Responsible States Like Idaho (op-ed - Gov. Brad Little / Idaho Mountain Express)

March 17, 2021

• Stop Bill Forcing Public to Support Government Union Bargaining (editorial - Orange County Register)

March 16, 2021

• Can Fiscal Alchemy Bolster Public Pension Funds? (column - Girard Miller / Governing)
• COVID Rescue Package Gives Failing Pension Plans an $86 Billion Bailout, Stirring Hope and Criticisms (Matt Stout / Boston Globe)
• CalPERS Told Her She’d Earn $60,000 a Year in Retirement. Her Pension Isn’t Even Close to That (column - Andrew Sheeler / Sacramento Bee)

March 15, 2021

• Pension Cuts for California Public Employee Felons Upheld (Daniel Borenstein / San Jose Mercury News)
• David Crane: California Man on a Mission (Larry Greenfield / Jewish Journal)

March 12, 2021

• Ex-CalPERS Board Member Sues Pension Fund, Demands Records Following Investment Chief’s Exit (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Los Angeles Controller Launches Updated Payroll Explorer for Greater Insight Into City Salaries (press release - City of Los Angeles)

March 11, 2021

• Police Unions Won Power Using His Playbook. Now He’s Negotiating the Backlash. (Michael H. Keller & Kim Barker / New York Times)

March 9, 2021

• Rescue Package Includes $86 Billion Bailout for Failing Pension Funds (Mary Williams Walsh & Alan Rappeport / New York Times)
• MoneyPalooza Monstrosity: It Passed! More on the Multiemployer Pension Bailout (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• GOP Targets California’s Underfunded Pensions in Effort to Sink Biden’s COVID Stimulus Plan (David Lightman / Sacramento Bee)
• Union Bill Uses COVID to Offer Tax-Free Pensions to California Public Employees (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Congress Undermines More Retirement Plans With Union Pension Rules (Aharon Friedman / Washington Examiner)
• Democrats Defend $86 Billion Bailout for Union Pensions in COVID Relief Bill (Stephen Loiaconi / Fox11)
• The Hopeful News for Social Security Buried in the $1.9 Trillion Bailout (Brett Arends / MarketWatch)

March 8, 2021

• Rising Costs of CalSTRS Debt Takes Money From Students, Classrooms (op-ed - Leonard Gilroy & Zachary Christensen / Orange County Register)
• Now That Multiemployer Plans Have Their Blank Check, What Can These Others Expect -- or Demand? (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Moody's Report: Illinois’ Pension Debt Tops $300 Billion, Highest of Any State (Peter Hancock / The Telegraph)

March 5, 2021

• Moneypalooza Monstrosity -- the Return: Multiemployer Bailout Will This Encourage a Public Pension Bailout? (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

March 4, 2021

• Who Should Pay for Pension Mistakes? California Legislature Could Make a Change (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Multiemployer Pension Reform Ruled Eligible For The COVID Relief Act (Seyfarth Shaw LLP / JD Supra)

March 3, 2021

• Prelude to a State Pension Bailout (op-ed - Andrew G. Biggs / Wall Street Journal)
• CalPERS $100,000 Pension Club Is Up 173% Since 2012, New Data Show (Robert Fellner / Transparent California)

March 2, 2021

• CalSTRS Aims for New $2 Billion Sustainable Portfolio (Randy Diamond / Chief Investment Officer)

March 1, 2021

• California’s Pension Woes Are Made Worse by Moving Emergency Services in House (Ike Brannon / Forbes)
• BART Faces 'Crisis Without Precedent': $1 Billion in Lost Revenue With Few Daily Commuters (Mallory Moench / Mass Transit)
• Pension Reform Newsletter - Published Monthly (Reason Foundation)

February 26, 2021

• After 225-Day Delay, South Pasadena Produces Records Within 24 Hours of Being Sued (Robert Fellner / Transparent California)
• South Pasadena Sued for Failing to Release Employee Pay Records for 225 Days (Jason Henry / Pasadena Star News)

February 25, 2021

• Covid-19 Relief Bill Could Rescue Union Retirees' Pensions (Emily Brill / Law360)
• Public Records Lawsuit Against CalPERS Over Disability Pensions Headed to the California Supreme Court (Robert Fellner / Transparent California)
• California Public Employees Disabled by Covid-19 Could Get Tax-Free Pensions Under Proposal (column - Wes Venteicher / San Luis Obispo Tribune)

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