• What’s Your Magic Number?
• BY: John M. Bernard   |   August 1, 2012
• Organizations usually have just a few leading indicators -- sometimes a single number -- that will predict success or identify problems.

• Illinois Gov. Quinn Calls Special Session on Pensions
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   July 31, 2012
• Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn issued a proclamation summoning the General Assembly back to Springfield on Aug. 17.

• Hybrid Pension Plans Attracting More States, Cities
• BY: Carol Anderson   |   August 2012
• Unable to continue making payments on traditional retirement benefits, officials are trading in the old model and looking for a more efficient option.
• 3 Comments

• New Jersey Legislature Puts Judges' Benefit Contributions on Ballot
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   New Jersey   |   July 31, 2012
• New Jersey voters will decide in November whether judges should contribute more toward their pensions and benefits, after after the Supreme Court ruled last week that a 2011 law to increase public employee contributions to pensions and health benefits cannot apply to any sitting judge.

• Voter Support for Police, Firefighters Wanes
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   July 30, 2012
• Traditionally, U.S. voters have backed generous pay and benefits for the cops and firefighters willing to risk their lives to keep citizens safe. But as economic conditions have worsened and many local governments have run into severe fiscal problems, that attitude has started to change.
• 7 Comments

• New Jersey Supreme Court: Judges Exempt from Pension, Benefits Cuts
• Source: New Jersey Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   July 25, 2012
• Incensed over a Supreme Court ruling declaring increased pension and health benefits contributions for certain judges unconstitutional, lawmakers said they’ll seek to change the state Constitution to force the hikes.
• 4 Comments

• Illinois Special Session on Pensions May be Called
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   July 19, 2012
• Gov. Pat Quinn hinted that lawmakers may be called to return to Springfield next month to attempt to deal with an overhaul of the state's public employee pension system.

• Detroit Mayor's Cuts to Public Workers Approved
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Detroit   |   July 13, 2012
• Detroit's financial advisory board approved Mayor Dave Bing's plans for $100 million in cuts to the city's unionized workforce that his administration is expected to impose without negotiations.

• The Very Public Private-Sector Retirement Problem
• BY: Penelope Lemov   |   June 28, 2012
• The Great Recession was hard on private workers. Will states and localities have to rescue them?

• Wisconsin's Pension is Strongest in Nation: Pew Report
• Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel   |   Nation   |   June 25, 2012
• The Pew Center on the States found that only Wisconsin out of the 50 states has enough money set aside to meet its current obligations to pay the pensions that have been promised to public employees. Wisconsin got those high marks for its pension funding for fiscal year 2010 -- before Gov. Scott Walker required public employees to contribute more for their pension and work longer hours and more years to qualify for one.
• 12 Comments

• GASB Set to Approve New Pension Rules
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   June 25, 2012
• Public retirement systems will have to make major changes in how they disclose their pension assets and liabilities.

• Boston Bucks National Trend, Looks to Increase Pensions
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Boston   |   June 18, 2012
• Mayor Thomas M. Menino is proposing to boost the annual cost-of-living adjustment for most pensioners from $360 to $390, a $30 increase. City Council president Stephen J. Murphy is pushing for more, seeking a $90 increase over the current rate.

• Largest U.S. Public Union to Elect New President
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2012
• The new chief will be running an organization whose members are fighting almost unprecedented cuts in jobs, benefits, bargaining rights - and increasingly angry taxpayers who question the size of their pension and healthcare benefits.

• Public Pension Portfolios Double Down
• BY: Girard Miller   |   June 14, 2012
• A new study blames GASB policy for spurring state and local governments to make riskier investments.
• 1 Comments

• America’s Looming Pension Shock
• BY: Mark Funkhouser   |   June 14, 2012
• After decades of gains, millions of Americans are slipping into poverty just as they near retirement age. The result will be a crisis for governments — one that they should be thinking about now.
• 3 Comments