What do you think of when you think of Wisconsin? The Green Bay Packers? Fried cheese curds? Anti-worker (failed) presidential candidates? Here at Defined Benefit, when we hear Wisconsin we think of a fully-funded model pension system. Wisconsin’s pension system, …
In the conversation around public pensions, there are a lot of myths that get repeated over and over again. We’re going to dispel three of the most common myths here. Myth #1: Pensions are Underfunded and Unsustainable Fact: Most public …
States looking for revenue to fund key priorities like education, infrastructure, and pensions need look no further than tax fairness. Tax fairness—the principle that the wealthy should be taxed the same as the middle and working classes—could help resolve a …
Today we begin a new series where we shine the spotlight on the politicians and ideological activists behind the attacks on public pensions. Our first subject: New Jersey governor and presidential aspirant Chris Christie. Below are five things you need …
Just the other day, Matt Bevin, a candidate for governor of Kentucky attacked the retirement security of public workers in Kentucky when he declared, “We have to move to a defined contribution plan, period.” When politicians like Matt Bevin attack …
In a previous post, we discussed the consequences for states that abandoned their pension plans. But gutting defined benefit pensions has consequences beyond unstable funding and decreased retirement security. A recent report by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement …