Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! We have gathered the best stories about pensions and retirement security from the previous week. You need to know this news in the fight for a secure retirement.
NPPC News
Here at the National Public Pension Coalition (NPPC), we believe that just as teachers work year-round for their students, we must advocate year-round for the financial security they deserve. Read our newest blog, Back to School, Back to Advocating for Teachers’ Pensions!
Gov. Tim Walz Celebrates the Defined-Benefit Pension on Labor Day
At a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz addressed the latest speculation on his net worth–with major news outlets simultaneously labeling him the “poorest candidate on a presidential ticket” and attacking his hard-earned defined benefit pension. Walz was a public high school teacher for 17 years before taking a leave of absence to focus on his political career. In addition to education, his service in the National Guard and U.S. Congress also allowed him to contribute to and earn multiple defined-benefit pensions.
Walz said: “That is my wish for every American — to have a defined benefit pension plan.”
Michigan Corrections Officers Demand Change – and Pensions
On Thursday, Michigan Corrections Organization (MCO) members were on the picket line outside of Michigan’s only women’s prison, the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, to bring attention to the dire staffing shortages in the state’s correction system. The demonstration was the fifth by MCO officers in the past two weeks. Correctional officers at the facility attribute the lack of staff to unexpectedly long shifts, frequently doubling daily work shifts from eight to 16 hours with little to no notice, leaving full-time employees only eight hours off the clock until they need to return to work.
Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility officer Coretta King said, “When I leave here doing a 16-hour shift, which takes an hour and twenty minutes to get home, that means I’m sleeping between two-and-a-half to three hours, and then I come right back.”
Officer Georgi Stan added, ” We need a pension. We need a hybrid pension. We need healthcare. People need healthcare when they retire. It’s just a job and not a career anymore, and it’s sad.”
Be sure to check back next Friday for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement! For now, sign up for NPPC News Clips to receive daily pension news from across the country directly to your inbox.