There is a new research paper out from the National Institute on Retirement Security and Milliman that purports to find new public employees are in love with defined benefit (DB) plans. The study looked at public sector plans that offer …
New Study Investigates Effects of Alternative Investments on Returns and Volatility
The rise in alternative investments among public pension plans has become a major concern for those wary of risk taking in the public sector. Several reports have previously covered this trend. However, few have systematically investigated the kinds of plans …
Moodys: Lottery Transfer No Solution to NJ Pension Crisis
New Moody’s Investor Services analysis helps frame the Garden State’s recent move to make the New Jersey Lottery an asset of the state’s pension system. The transfer, adopted during budget negotiations earlier this summer, will divvy up state lottery earnings …
LA County's $25 Billion OPEB Debt
A recently completed actuarial report shows that Los Angeles County has over $25 billion in unfunded retiree healthcare liabilities — and this constitutes the greatest threat to the county’s long term fiscal sustainability. L.A. County’s Other Postemployment Benefit (OPEB) unfunded …
City of Los Angeles Pension Gap Surpasses $10 Billion
California pension worries most often focus on CalPERS and CalSTRS, the state’s two multi-employer behemoths. But the state has many other underfunded plans, and these city and county systems pose significant challenges for governments that contribute to them. The City …
Will Trump's Infrastructure Plan Help Florida?
Florida has pretty good infrastructure, but also very rapid economic, population, and tourism growth. So it needs a lot more infrastructure. With Trump promising a major federal infrastructure initiative with a big reliance on public-private partnerships, I wrote a column exploring some …
Charter Schools and Accountability
Local officials where I live reacted very differently to a charter school doing poorly on state testing than they did when a very similar standard public school had the same problem. I found that interesting and explore it in my …
Student-Based Budgeting Could Jumpstart Montgomery Public Schools
Amid financial turmoil and struggling academics in Montgomery’s Public Schools, the state of Alabama is stepping in to take over the district and implement crucial school finance reforms. The takeover, State Superintendent Michael Sentance, was first approved earlier this year …
Local Tourism Agencies Aren't Liking the Extra Sunshine
A 2017 change to Florida tourism law requires local tourism agencies and partners of the state agency Visit Florida to publicly disclose salary and other financial earnings information. As a result, local marketing agencies around the state are breaking their partnerships with Visit Florida, …
Proposed Bill Offers Hope for Louisiana State Parks' Severe Funding Challenges
Many states continue to face difficult finances, often to the detriment of operations and maintenance of state parks. A case in point is Louisiana, where the budget allotment for the state Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism—which includes funds for …
Preliminary Reports Suggest Favorable Investment Returns for Pension Funds this Year.
Preliminary fiscal year 2017 investment returns for public sector pension systems are starting to roll in, and the news is mostly good. At least for this year. CalPERS and CalSTRS — the two largest public pension systems in the country …
New SEBAC Agreement Inches Connecticut State Employees Pension Plan Towards Sustainability
Connecticut’s out-of-control spiral into a fiscal crisis has been well documented. And for too long the Nutmeg State has ignored proposed solutions while continuing to underfund its state and teacher pension funds. However, a new labor agreement just approved by …
