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Public pensions play a major role in state budgets. This also means that the budget and tax decisions made by state legislatures and governors have a big impact on public pensions. In no state is this relationship better demonstrated than…
Today the Republican Party kicks off its presidential nominating convention. The GOP is expected to nominate reality TV star Donald Trump for president and Indiana Governor Mike Pence for vice president. We’ve expressed concern in the past about Trump and…
A new report out this week from the National Institute on Retirement Security offers some new insights about the portability of defined benefit pensions. According to the report, pensions have a fairly high degree of portability. One common criticism of…
The 2008 financial crisis- dubbed “The Great Recession” by many- had devastating consequences throughout the American economy. Public pension plans were among the hardest hit by the Wall Street greed that led to the crisis. Many public pensions suffered steep…
We’ve written before about how 401(k)s favor the wealthy, but also how pensions can help low-income workers prepare to retire. In general, low-income workers struggle to save for retirement and that is reflected in the large disparity in retirement savings…
Defined benefit pensions are the most secure and reliable way to provide retirement security for working families. The key feature of pensions is that they pay a guaranteed monthly benefit for life. This provides retirees with unparalleled retirement security and…
Last week, the Louisiana legislature concluded its second special session of the year. Sandwiched in between those special sessions was its brief regular session. Despite the ongoing budget challenges there, this was a successful year in the fight to protect…
If you are a long time reader of Defined Benefit, then you know that pensions remain the best way for working families to save for retirement. Pensions are more cost-effective than defined contribution 401(k)-style plans and provide more income in…
Last week NPPC’s Executive Director, Bailey Childers, submitted testimony to the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee encouraging them to include retirement security as part of the 2016 platform. So far this year, the presidential candidates have said little about retirement…
Teachers. Firefighters. Police officers. Behind every pension is a public servant who has dedicated their career to keeping our communities safe and prosperous. Popular rhetoric around public pensions often distracts from the true issue at hand; these aren’t numbers, these…
A couple weeks ago, the New York Times ran an excellent article on women and retirement. The article discusses the unique challenges facing women in preparing for retirement. It also highlights that women who work in fields where defined benefit…
Puerto Rico and its debt crisis remain in the news as Congress considers legislation to help the island territory restructure and manage its debt. Puerto Rico’s pensioners remain trapped in this crisis as well. Just last week, a new audit…