Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! As we do most weeks, we have gathered the best stories about pensions and retirement security from the previous week. This is the news you need to know in the fight for a secure retirement.
Here are this week’s top stories:
- America’s public pensions matter by Andrew Collier: NPPC’s Communications Director writes in The Hill that most retired public employees receive modest pensions after years of serving their communities. Outliers like college football coaches and university presidents should not obscure the fact that most retirees are not living lives of luxury with their pensions. “But this is about more than the numbers,” Collier writes. “It’s about what values our states stand for and what kind of economy we want to build for our country.”
- New revenue remains essential for fixing pension crisis by Jerald Adkins: a retired public employee in Kentucky argues that the commonwealth must fix its tax code to ensure adequate revenue to fully fund public pensions. Instead of seeking bipartisan solutions, Republican legislators jammed through a stinking pension-gutting bill in a manner of hours, leading to protests by public employees and retirees at the state capitol.
- Oklahoma House passes stipend for pensioners, turns down cost of living adjustment by Randy Krehbiel: retired public employees in Oklahoma will receive a one-time payment of roughly $350 if the governor signs legislation recently passed by the state legislature. All this year, public employees and retirees have been fighting for a full cost of living adjustment (COLA). While that effort was defeated, the one-time stipend is a recognition that retired public employees are falling behind in their standard of living and need a meaningful COLA increase.
- The ‘Star Wars’ theory of retirement by Bailey Childers: in honor of the May the Fourth, let’s revisit a piece from two years ago by NPPC’s former Executive Director. Childers argued at the time that with the economy continuing to grow and unemployment falling, workers need to have access to secure retirement savings plans like pensions. With today’s jobs report showing unemployment at its lowest level in 18 years, her words ring more true than ever.
Be sure to check back next week for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement!