Pension Reform

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Pension reform efforts have been making headlines recently as state and local governments have been scrutinizing expenses to make ends meet in the recession. High-profile debates in Wisconsin, New Jersey and elsewhere in 2011 renewed attention on government employee retirement benefits and salaries. For several years, states and local governments have been adjusting their employee benefit plans to eliminate pensions.

American City & County covers pension reform news as it relates to states and local governments in the United States.

Title fight

Pension warfare

Editor's Viewpoint: It's all over except for the shouting

May 15, 2018

Article

American City and County

Illinois-wide pension law, pension debts cripple municipalities’ finances

Long-growing state-wide pension funding shortfalls combined with a new state law that withholds funding from local governments that can’t pay for their pensions has led to a multi-faceted monetary crisis among municipalities throughout Illinois....More
Mar 14, 2018

Article

American City and County

Over 100 local public entities in Michigan found to have underfunded retirement benefits

In the wake of a new Michigan pension law, the state’s department of treasury revealed that over 110 of 490 local Michigan governments have underfunded pensions or retirement health care benefits....More
Dec 11, 2017

Article

American City and County

Officer with PTSD from Pulse massacre to lose job

An Eatonville, Fla. police officer hailed as a hero in the 2016 Orlando, Fla. Pulse nightclub massacre will lose his job after 10 years on the force due to mental issues developed after the massacre....More
May 30, 2017

Commentary

Preserving pension promises in a DC world

Metlife Vice President of Institutional Income Annuities Roberta Rafaloff instructs government workers on how they can add the benefirs of a defined benefits pension to a defined contribution plan....More
Jan 25, 2017

Article

American City and County

Cities struggle under weight of rising pension costs

Several cities across the U.S. are grappling with rising municipal and state pension costs, being forced to pass legislation or abstaining from reinstating previously cut government programs....More
Jan 9, 2017

Article

American City and County

California city overpays pensions for years, asks retirees for money back

San Jose, Calif., officials have discovered that the city’s pension plan has overpaid hundreds of public safety employees for the past 20 years. Now, the city is asking for its money back....More
Jul 22, 2016

Article

American City and County

Philadelphia, largest municipal workers' union sign new workers' contract

Philadelphia and its largest public labor union have signed a four year labor contract that guarantees increased wages and better pensions for municipal workers....More
Jul 16, 2014

Article

American City and County

Public employees not prepared for retirement

As retirement budgets become tighter, public employees aren’t realizing that benefit packages alone will not keep them financially solvent....More
May 7, 2014

Article

American City and County

Pension problems

The Urban Institute ranked over 600 public pension plans across the country, and the outlook for government employees, especially those entering the workforce, is bleak....More
Apr 7, 2014

Article

American City and County

‘Trend Gap’ demonstrates state and local governments' growing insolvency

Spending on pensions and other benefits must be reined in for local and state governments to remain financially sustainable....More