City officials have until Nov. 1, 2024 to submit a plan to the state as to how they will close the $3 billion shortfall and have the system fully funded by 2055, but it remains unclear how officials will do so.
With federal deficits soaring, bond issuers may face higher financing costs. State and local cash managers shine for now, but all eyes will be on the coming congressional budget battle.
Many Americans are at risk of outliving their retirement savings. State pension plans could have a new role: selling longevity insurance. It could even save states money in the long run.
An online resource now being built out has the potential to become an important intellectual hub for public-sector investment practitioners. They need to articulate what they most want to find there.
Private credit has gained a growing share of pension portfolios over the past decade. It’s time to take a second look under the hood.
It is irresponsible and dangerous for politicians to dictate which investments public asset managers must favor. States, municipalities and public pensions are paying higher interest rates on bonds and getting poorer returns on investments.
Inflation rates are coming down, but state and local labor costs will be sticky, as will public-employee health-care expenses. Overall, though, it’s a better outlook for pension funding and astute government cash managers.
State Republican lawmakers, the powerful petroleum lobby and the public pension funds targeted by the bill oppose the measure that would divest the state’s retirement funds and sell nearly $15 billion in assets.
The city spends roughly $1 of every $5 on pensions while more than 80 percent of property tax dollars go towards retirement payouts. In November, the city had no junk ratings for the first time since 2015.
Attractive investment returns could accompany economic development if local public pension systems join forces with angel investors to capitalize on a marketplace void.
The expansion of the Deferred Retirement Option Program will allow career government workers and educators to draw pensions while continuing to work for eight to 10 years but will cost the state an additional $350 million annually.
Hackers managed to break into CalPERS and CalSTRS, the two California retirement systems, and have stolen Social Security numbers, birth dates and other sensitive information for 769,000 retirees. The attack came from a breach in a contractor’s cybersecurity system.
The Democrat-controlled Senate approved the budget with a 34-22 vote on Thursday evening, which will allocate an additional $100 million to higher ed, $85 million for homelessness and $200 million toward pension plans.
Income tax and sales tax revenue projections are slipping. State and local policymakers need to avoid fiscal giveaways and gimmicks, and they need to beware of potential federal aid clawbacks.
The last two state budgets included full payments to the pension fund of roughly $7 billion each year, the first time that’s been done in a quarter century. The Democratic governor’s latest budget proposal includes another full payment of $7.1 billion.
Culture wars over environmental, social and governance factors used by pension fiduciaries are in the spotlight, but it’s the municipal bond arena where long-term analysis must trump short-term symbolic politics. Sustainability actually matters to investors.
