This week’s blog post revisits some of our most important posts from 2021 discussing important pension topics.
Millennial Public Employees Want Pensions!: September, 2021
Millennials, defined as those born between 1981 and 1996, have experienced multiple economic disruptions throughout their working lives which have caused significant financial obstacles when it comes to not only keeping up with the cost of living, but also saving for retirement. The Great Recessions of 2008 and the coronavirus pandemic are two major disturbances that have greatly impacted millennials financially compared to other generations, not to mention the increasing amounts of student loan debt.
Contrary to policymakers’ beliefs, millennial public employees recognize that pensions are an important aspect of their retirement security. Findings in a report from NIRS stated that 71% of millennial public employees would leave their jobs if their pensions were cut. Ninety-two percent of millennial public employees also said that pensions were an effective way to recruit and retain qualified public employees, making them a critical asset for state and local governments to ensure low turnover rates.
New Research Shows The Advantages Of Maintaining Defined-Benefit Pensions: June, 2021
This blog discusses three significant findings from an updated research brief from the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) that revealed that defined-benefit (DB) plans offer significant advantages for public employees, employers, and taxpayers over defined-contribution (DC) plans. The findings concluded that:
- Switching newly hired public employees into a DC plan does not result in cost savings for state and local governments and offers less retirement security for public employees.
- DB pensions are a critical tool for recruiting and retaining qualified public employees.
- DB pensions serve as valuable economic multipliers for state and local communities and also create tax revenue for these areas.
Why Truth In Accounting’s Recent Claims About Pensions Are Inaccurate: June, 2021
Truth in Accounting (TIA) produces a yearly report leading taxpayers in the country to believe they’ll have to pay a large sum of money to cover their underfinanced pension liabilities. This post explains why those findings are incorrect, according to the Brookings Institute and National Institute for Retirement Security.
Americans Believe Pensions Can Solve The Retirement Security Crisis: May, 2021
A poll shared by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) showed while Americans may not agree on everything, they do agree that pensions help ensure working people can retire with security and dignity.
Results showed that Americans across party lines believe all workers should have access to a defined-benefit pension plan. NIRS found more than two-thirds of Americans think the country faces a retirement security crisis, and 76% of Americans have a favorable view of defined-benefit pensions.
According to the figures, more than three-fourths agree that all workers should have access to a pension. Three-fourths of Americans also agree that pensions are a good way to recruit and retain qualified teachers and public safety employees.
