pensions

Teacher pensions are squeezing school funding across the United States, study says

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:40:00 GMT

Source: www.deseretnews.com --- Wednesday, June 19, 2013
A new study by the Fordham Institute finds pervasive problems with underfunding of teacher pensions and retiree health care.... ...

AEGON, the life insurance and pensions company, has reported a nine per cent ris...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:52:39 GMT

Source: www.facebook.com --- Wednesday, June 19, 2013
AEGON, the life insurance and pensions company, has reported a nine per cent rise in underlying earnings before tax in its first quarter 2008 report. The report shows that operating earnings and net income has been affected by the recent instability … AEGON builds on first quarter success with Poland merger approval ...

Pensions, the triple lock and Scottish independence

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:55:01 GMT

Source: www.libdemvoice.org --- Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Steve Webb has come under a bit of fire for comments that his triple lock, which guarantees a state pension rise by the higher of earnings, inflation or 2.5%. Let’s look at what he actually said to the Financial Times. My view is it should be triple lock; to be absolutely clear, I would want to see that continue. But we, as a party, will have to thrash that one out. He made clear that this would be something that all parties would have go deal with. This is pretty much a statement of the obvious. Every policy of a previous government is up for grabs once the next lot come in. The triple lock, of course, was brought in when the pension was much lower. It was £97.65 per week in 2010-11. Sustaining it over the longer term with a pension rate of £142 per week which will be brought in by the pensions Bill currently going through Parliament is bound to present challenges. We will need to be quite clear about how we would pay for it. Steve clearly thinks that we should and will no doubt argue his case with the Manifesto Working Group which is currently developing the platform for 2015. I have long said that it is ridiculous that a family with a disabled child get no help with heating costs while my husband, who is still earning a reasonable amount, qualifies for Winter Fuel Allowance that we don’t need because he’s over 60. I’m very encouraged that Nick Clegg has signalled that any further cuts to welfare must come from those who can mo ...

Oak Lawn cancels pensions for part-time officeholders

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:10:58 GMT

Source: www.chicagotribune.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Mayor, Village Board members included Mayor, Village Board members included ...

Detroit Hit by Restructuring Plan That Attacks Jobs, Healthcare and Pensions

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:06:00 GMT

Source: panafricannews.blogspot.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, speaking in East English Village in Detroit on December 6, 2008. (Photo: Alan Pollock). , a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr. Detroit Hit by Restructuring Plan That Attacks Jobs, Healthcare and pensions Orr announces $2.5 moratorium on unsecured debt at private airport meeting with creditors By Abayomi Azikiwe Editor, Pan-African News Wire A new restructuring plan has been issued with no real input by the people of Detroit. Kevyn Orr, the state-appointed emergency manager held a closed meeting on June 14 with creditors and some labor leaders at the Westin Hotel right next door to the main airport terminal for Wayne County. Orr’s meeting was met with a demonstration organized by the Moratorium NOW! Coalition which brought a group of workers, retirees, community activists and youth to the airport to denounce the emergency management system for its total disregard of the democratic will of the people of Detroit and Michigan as well as the preferences given by the EM to the bankers and bondholders who are largely responsible for the destruction of the city’s infrastructure and the impoverishment of its people. Friday’s demonstration, which gained national press coverage, culminated a series of activities over the previous six weeks which attempted to mobilize people in the city to challenge the role of the banks in the proposed restructuring of Detroit. Detroit ...

Geologic time: 426 days since Quinn said he was "put on earth" to fix Illinois pensions

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Source: marathonpundit.blogspot.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Geology works at its own pace Later today the Democratic-controlled Illinois General Assembly will meet in a special session called by Governor Pat Quinn to solve Illinois' $100 billion pension shortfall. . The debt grows by $17 million per day . It was 426 days ago when Quinn said he was "put on earth" to fix the state's pensions. Since then the 2012 and 2013 spring sessions of the state legislature--when most of the work is done--have adjourned. So what's going to happen at today's special session? Nothing . But a Quinn spokeswoman said that the Chicago Democrat will call another special session in "early July" to work on pensions. What will happen in July? Maybe Quinn will decide to call for an August special session to solve this crisis. Perhaps "Earthly" Quinn is working on geologic time. Technorati tags: pensions Politics economy news Patrick Quinn pat quinn government taxes illinois politics Geology Underfoot in Illinois (Google Affiliate Ad) ...

Growth Plan pensions deficit increased by 20 per cent last year

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:16:31 GMT

Source: www.thirdsector.co.uk --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
pensions specialist David Davison says there is a risk of a domino effect that would "close down a large chunk of the charity sector" ...

Student Loan-Backed Pensions

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:30:00 GMT

Source: captaincapitalism.blogspot.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
I wonder how many baby boomers are relying on "student loan portfolios" for their retirement? HHR4HM7ZPMV3 ...

Sen. John Cornyn discloses 3 Texas pensions as supplemental income

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:25:24 GMT

Source: trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn after a GOP strategy session today. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON – Sen. John Cornyn has been supplementing his Senate salary for six years with pensions earned from his days as a Texas judge and attorney general – retirement payments that went undisclosed for several years. Cornyn’s most recent annual disclosure statement, filed last month, shows he collected $65,383 from three Texas pension plans in 2012. That’s on top of his $174,000 Senate salary. He drew $48,807 from the Judicial Retirement System of Texas, stemming from service on the Texas Supreme Court from 1990 to 1997, plus $7,645 from the Employees Retirement System of Texas, and $6,444 from the Texas County and District Retirement System. He served as the state’s attorney general from 1999 to 2002, when he was elected to the Senate. From 1984 to 1990, he served as a district court judge in Bexar County. National Journal first reported the amendments . Cornyn, who faces reelection next year, serves as the deputy Senate Republican leader. An aide declined to comment on the pensions or explain why he hadn’t previously reported the payments. Federal lawmakers must file financial disclosure forms each May reporting, in broad strokes, their assets, income and debts. Last July, Cornyn filed amended forms for 2006 to 2010, to note that he had collected $10,132 each of those years from the Employees Retirement System of Texas — the pensio ...

Illinois Senate debates university pensions

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:49:18 GMT

Source: www.qconline.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) A pension reform proposal developed by a group of education experts has been debated in an Illinois senate committee. The six-step plan was developed by officials from the University of Illinois and Northern Illinois ...

Scottish News: Swinney in pledge over pensions

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:25:15 GMT

Source: www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Senior citizens in Scotland would benefit from stronger pension safeguards than those elsewhere in the UK if Scotland became independent, the Finance Secretary has said. ...

Mainstay’s Kudla Discusses Chrysler Pensions, Fed (Audio)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:16:53 GMT

Source: www.bloomberg.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
...

Are Public Pensions Keeping Up with the Times?

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:10:50 GMT

Source: www.afscmeinfocenter.org --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Source: Richard W. Johnson, Matthew M. Chingos and Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst, Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, June 2013 From the summary : …As debate swirls around how to properly fund public employee benefits, this report assesses the real challenges facing state and local government retirement plans and details the problems facing public employee pension systems across the country. Chingos, Whitehurst and Johnson’s comprehensive examination of the existing research on this topic highlights the many problems facing these pension plans, including the underfunding that threatens states’ economic futures and outdated design features that cripple states’ ability to recruit and retain the best public servants…. ...

Derivative Losses, Bad Bets, And Aggressive Assumptions Leave Detroit’s Pensions Massively Underfunded

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:13:52 GMT

Source: financialsurvivalnetwork.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
from Zero Hedge Late last week, Detroit’s emergency manager Kevyn Orr, outlined his plan to stop a disaster becoming a catastrophe in the slumping city. The initial suspension of payment on pension obligation bonds is just the start as Orr warns unsecured creditors may only receive up to 10 cents on the dollar as about $2.5 billion in general unsecured debt won’t be recovered. Rather incredibly, the city’s General and Police and Fire retirement systems have a combined underfunding of $3.5 billion made worse by “aggressive actuarial assumptions,” and “investing in risky development projects around the city and loans that will never be repaid.” Under more realistic assumptions the funding status of the two pensions drops from 83% and 100% to 65% and 78% and he notes that “if these pension funds’ assets had just been invested in a conservative way,” as opposed to the political and reach-for-yield driven extravagance, “they probably would be fully funded now.” The bottom line is not just creditor haircuts but,”significant cuts in accrued, vested pension amounts for both active and currently retired persons.” Continue Reading at ZeroHedge.com… Tweet ...

[Ticker] MEPs back lower FTT on sovereign debt and pensions

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:46:14 GMT

Source: euobserver.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
MEPs on the parliament's economic affairs committee backed the latest proposal by the European Commission to create a financial transaction tax. However, MEPs, who have a consultative role, voted for trades in sovereign bonds and pension funds to be taxed at 0.05%, half the 0.1% standard rate until January 2017. ...

universal pensions in Nepal

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:26:46 GMT

Source: larrywillmore.net --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Nepal is one of the poorest countries on the planet. In the United Nations Human Development Index, Nepal ranks 157 out of 187. Yet its senior citizens receive a pension from the government as a right, not as charity. Wealthier countries could do worse than follow the example of Nepal. Nepal introduced a universal pension [...] ...

Construction industry ‘worst offender’ in pensions area

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Source: www.irishexaminer.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The pensions Board has singled out the construction industry as the worst offender for not paying employees’ pension contributions into their pension funds. ...

Council pay raise: Tie wage to seniors’ pensions

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:54:46 GMT

Source: www.bclocalnews.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Maybe councillors could improve their image if their salaries were tied to seniors’ pensions. ...

NYU Administrators Create Student Debt Slaves to Subsidize Summer Homes, Ginormous Pensions

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:45:03 GMT

Source: www.nakedcapitalism.com --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
When union members demand decent pay levels and work conditions, they are charged with featherbedding and overmanning or the new neoliberal catchall, “demanding uncompetitive wages”. But when the upper crust loots institutions, the mainstream media is typically missing in action. The latest find is from Pam Martens, who has been keeping tabs on the administrator-enriching real estate racket at NYU. She ferreted out an egregious housing deal for Jack Lew when he was at NYU. As we wrote in February : Recall that Lew is essentially a career elite technocrat, with his major stint out of government being during the Bush Administration, when he first served as the Executive Vice President for Operations at NYU (where his noteworthy accomplishment was busting the bargaining rights of grad students) and then became the chief operating officer for Citigroup’s alternative investment group…. Lew came from a job at NYU where he already looks to have been considerably overpaid. He received over $840,000 for the academic year 2002-2003, which had him earning more than most university presidents, including NYU’s president. And on top of that, as Pam Martens ferreted out, he was apparently given a $1.3 million house . I’m not making that up, go read her piece. The mechanism was that NYU lent the $1.3 million to buy the house to Lew and then forgave it over five years. Oh, and they paid him the money to pay the interest too. We will assume that t ...

Insurer blocks 500 'pensions liberation' attempts

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:35:52 GMT

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk --- Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Friends Life calls on the pensions industry to clamp down on "pensions liberation" companies after reporting an increase in their activities. ...