Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! As we do most weeks, we have gathered the top 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:
- PERA changes unfair to retirees by Bruce Cochrane: a retired New Mexico police officer speaks out about proposed freezes to cost of living adjustments (COLAs) for retired public employees in the state. COLAs have already been reduced for retired public employees; freezing them completely would be devastating to the retirements of these workers who planned their retirements around these COLAs and earned them as part of their service.
- California pension fund’s 8.6 percent return beats target by the Associated Press: CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund, surpassed its investment return goal for the fiscal year that ended on June 30th. This is the second year in a row that CalPERS exceeded its investment target. This follows a trend of many public pension funds surpassing their goals, with many funds earning double-digit returns. Strong investment returns are crucial to public pension funds because investment earnings typically make up two-thirds or more of a pension fund’s revenues.
- Judge rejects Gov. Matt Bevin’s request to revisit pension ruling by Tom Loftus: the Kentucky judge who struck down the unconstitutional pension-gutting law last month has denied a request by Gov. Bevin to reconsider his ruling. The judge upheld his initial ruling that the law violated procedural requirements for passage and declined to consider any other potential legal issues. Gov. Bevin now has thirty days during which he could appeal the case to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
- Pension Fund Keeps Positive Streak Alive by Lloyd Dunkelberger: just as in California, the Florida Retirement System also earned strong investment returns in the past year, marking the ninth straight year the retirement fund has shown a positive gain. Over the last 33 years, the Florida Retirement System has had 21 years of double-digit returns.
Be sure to check back next week for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement!
