Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! As we do most weeks, we have gathered the best stories about pensions and retirement security from the previous week. This is the news you need to know in the fight for a secure retirement.
Here are this week’s top stories:
- Managing Income Adequacy: Back to the Future? by Bailey Childers: writing in Advisor Magazine, NPPC’s Executive Director discusses the history of the 401(k) and how they have failed to live up to their promise. With a looming retirement crisis, voters must demand solutions from policymakers to fulfill the promise of a secure retirement.
- New Orleans doesn’t need pension reform for city workers by Joshua Smith: a New Orleans public employee speaks out against proposed changes to the city employees’ pension system being pushed by Councilwoman Stacy Head. Smith writes: “It’s strange to me that a City Council member would attack the very thing I and all other public employees rely on — our retirement security. NOMERS isn’t in bad shape or in fiscal turmoil, this is just irresponsible policy.”
- Senate, House narrowly override Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of $1.2 billion tax bill by Tim Carpenter: great news out of Kansas this week! Majorities in both chambers of the state legislature overrode the veto by Gov. Brownback of a responsible tax reform bill that finally ends Brownback’s disastrous tax policy experiment. As the state has struggled to bring in enough revenue, Kansas’ public pensions have been threatened. This new legislation should allow the state to collect enough revenue to fully fund pensions, public schools, and other vital state services.
- Education Association members pay for their pensions by Bernadette Hampton: the president of the South Carolina Education Association rebuts the arguments of a columnist regarding the participation of SCEA members in the state pension system. SCEA members pay fully into the pension fund and their contributions will be increasing under the terms of legislation passed earlier this year to shore up the financing of the pension system.
- Must ensure pensions there for those who earned them by Larry Totten: finally this week, a retired Kentucky state parks employee discusses the importance of protecting the pensions of current and retired public employees in the Bluegrass State. As Totten says: “…if there were issues with the state providing its share, it was neither our doing nor our fault… we each met our obligation under this contract and anticipated the commonwealth would do the same. Kentucky is a better place for everyone due in no small part to its public employees.”
Be sure to check back next week for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement!
