The Defined Benefit

Search

Categories

Tags

Date

  • Public Pensions Are Under Attack in Iowa
    Iowa public pensions

    Iowa is fortunate to have a strong public pension system. The Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) provides pensions to teachers, firefighters, and other public employees throughout the Hawkeye State. In fact, one in ten Iowans is a member of…

  • The Assault on the Retirement Security of Federal Employees Continues
    Assault on retirement security of federal employees

    As we’ve discussed before, President Trump proposed devastating cuts to the retirement benefits of federal employees in his 2018 budget request. This far-reaching and unnecessary attack would undermine the retirement security of current and future federal employees. While Trump sticks…

  • The “Pension Crisis” is a Myth, Part Two
    pension crisis is a myth

    Since the Great Recession in 2008, warnings of an impending pension crisis have been splashed across the business pages of newspapers across the country. Despite these boisterous decrees, America’s public pension funds are stable. We explore the roots behind the…

  • Michigan Weakens the Retirement Security of Its Public School Employees
    Retirement security

    Yesterday Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation– SB 401– that weakens the retirement security of the state’s public school employees. This newly-signed legislation continues a long running saga of attacks on the pension benefits of Michigan’s public employees. While SB…

  • The “Pension Crisis” is a Myth, Part One
    public pensions

    Since the Great Recession in 2008, warnings of an impending pension crisis have been splashed across the business pages of newspapers across the country. Despite these boisterous decrees, America’s public pension funds are stable. We explore the roots behind the…

  • Everyone Suffers When Pensions Are Cut

    When pension benefits are cut, public employees and retirees are hurt. In the past decade, every state has made changes to its public pension systems, some more significant than others. Teachers, firefighters, and other public employees have been asked to…

  • Raising the Cap on 401(k)s Won’t Solve Retirement Crisis
    Retirement savings

    As we discussed last week, the evidence continues to grow that 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans do not provide a secure retirement for working families. Despite this mounting evidence, some have pushed for more contributions to 401(k)-style plans, as…

  • The Shift to 401(k)s Has Decimated Retirement Savings
    Retirement savings decimated

    Long time readers of Defined Benefit know that 401(k)-style defined contribution plans have largely failed working families. Defined contribution plans are a poor substitute for defined benefit pension plans and as the private sector has shifted from pensions to 401(k)s,…

  • Retirement Security is Particularly Challenging for Latino Workers
    Latino retirement security

    Many Americans struggle to save for retirement. As we’ve discussed before, roughly half of working Americans do not have access to a retirement savings plan through their employer. Even for those who do have access, many are contributing too little…

  • Josh McGee: Playing Both Sides in Houston
    Arnold-Texas-Tracker

    During its legislative session this year, the Texas Senate confirmed Josh McGee as the Chairman of the Texas Pension Review Board. This should concern everyone who cares about the retirement security of public employees in Texas because McGee is also…

  • States Will Be Hit Hard by Cuts to Federal Employee Pensions
    Federal employee retirement

    In his 2018 budget proposal unveiled last month, President Donald Trump proposed attacks on the pensions of federal employees. We wrote about how harmful these cuts would be to the retirement security of federal employees. However, these proposed cuts would…

  • Repeal of Dodd-Frank Threatens Americans’ Retirement Security
    Retirement

    Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal stringent Wall Street regulations included in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Immediately after his election in November of last year, President Trump pledged to repeal…