Search
Categories
Tags
Date
Last week we wrote about the various forms of legal protections that exist for public pensions in the United States. We noted that a majority of states (34) follow a contract rights approach to public pension benefits. One of the…
Teachers, firefighters, and other public employees in Colorado are members of PERA, the Public Employees Retirement Association. This public pension plan covers most public employees in the state. It is also a Social Security substitute: most members of PERA do…
Public pension plans are authorized by the municipal or state government that offers the plan to its public employees. This means there is a wide range of variation about the specifics of public pensions from state to state. With thousands…
The attacks on public pension plans are constantly changing. Pension critics claim public employees need to be given a choice between defined benefit pension plans and 401(k)-style defined contribution plans. This is an unnecessary and risky choice. Public employees, like…
Pew Charitable Trusts is a respected institution studying many different aspects of American life. Legislators, civic leaders, and everyday Americans rely on Pew for objective, high-quality data and analysis on various issues. So why is one small division of Pew…
Today, thousands of workers and retirees rallied in Puerto Rico to protest ongoing austerity measures, including proposed cuts to public pensions. Puerto Rico’s public pensions have been threatened for years by the long-lasting debt crisis and other calamities to befall…
Retirement has long been a part of the American dream. Throughout the twentieth century, the belief was that after a lifetime of hard work, workers could retire and enjoy their golden years. When defined benefit pensions were still common in…
The financial crisis and Great Recession had a devastating effect on public pension plans. On average, public pension plans lost about a quarter of the value of their assets due to the crisis. In the years since the recession, almost…
Today is Tax Day. We thought this would be a good time to re-post a blog post from two years ago that answered the question: how many tax dollars go to public pensions? Taxpayer contributions to public pensions represent a…
Today we are resharing a post from September 2017 about a report from Good Jobs First, a national nonpartisan organization that tracks economic development programs. Their report found that Kentucky gives away far more each year through corporate subsidies and…
The fight to protect pensions in Kentucky has been long and drawn-out. Despite months of promises, Governor Bevin never called a special legislative session last year to address tax reform and public pensions. Earlier this year, members of the Kentucky…
Since beginning his crusade against public pensions, John Arnold has been relentless in his attacks on retirement security for working families. Often, he pays others to do his dirty work for him. For example, he funds biased research from the…