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:
- Pensions make a secure retirement by Bridget Early: NPPC’s Executive Director writes about the challenges facing Millennials as they save for retirement in jobs where pensions are less common. “It may seem far off now, but retirement security (or insecurity) for Millennials is a major problem that needs to be addressed.”
- U.S. pensions among the world’s largest funds by Margarida Correia: there is 18.1 trillion dollars invested globally in pension funds. More than one-third (36.7%) of that is invested in U.S. pension funds- both public and private. What’s more, the assets invested in defined benefit pension funds continues to grow. Despite the myths promoted by anti-pension ideologues, pensions still exist and they continue to provide a secure retirement for working families.
- PERS a lifeline for correctional officers by Greg Clouser: an Oregon correctional officer writes about the importance of protecting pensions for COs who work in this dangerous profession. “So why risk our families, our health and our lives? Because traditionally this has been a secure job with consistent pay and secure benefits. We knew that if we came to work and did our part that we could support our families and have a secure retirement.”
- IPERS beats goal with nearly 8% gain on pension fund investments by William Petroski: the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System surpassed its investment goal for the past year. IPERS recently lowered its assumed rate of return to 7 percent, but it earned 7.97 percent in the most recent fiscal year. IPERS CEO Donna Mueller said, “For IPERS, a more significant measurement is our 30-year annualized return which is 8.72 percent.”
- Retired Oklahoma teachers need cost of living adjustment by The Edmond Sun: retired teachers in Oklahoma have not received a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in more than a decade. During that time, rising inflation and healthcare costs have eaten away at the value of their pension benefit. Legislation was introduced during the 2018 session that would have granted a COLA, but it was never brought to the floor for a vote. Supporters hope the legislation will be reintroduced next year.
Be sure to check back next week for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement!
