Tonight is the Iowa caucus, the kick off of the presidential nominating process for both Republicans and Democrats. We’ve heard a lot from the presidential candidates, but not a lot about retirement security. Before we talk about the candidates though, let’s talk about the state that is the focus of everyone’s attention today.
Did you know Iowa has a well-managed, stable, and growing pension fund? Here are some other fun facts about pensions in the First in the Nation State:
- Iowa PERS is funded at 81 percent and on path to be fully funded in less than 30 years
- One in ten Iowans receives benefits through IPERS
- The average retiree in Iowa receives a modest but reliable benefit of $14,883 per year
The presidential candidates campaigning across Iowa today are anything but modest and reliable. The candidates have said little about how they would protect retirement security for hard-working Americans (click here to see what candidates have said about your retirement security). The worst offender is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. His record on public pensions is terrible, but he’s bad on retirement security all around. And almost all of the Republican candidates support raising the retirement age for Social Security.
The caucus tonight is just the beginning of the presidential campaign. As the campaign continues, the candidates must offer proactive solutions to the looming retirement crisis rather than harsh attacks on public pensions and plans to raise the retirement age for Social Security.
