View Full Version : Pension funds at $1T shortfall
Peter1469
07-18-2015, 04:00 AM
Pension funds at $1T shortfall (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-17/pension-funds-burn-cities-as-1-trillion-shortfall-set-to-grow)
America's love of debt spending is catching up to us in all areas of life, not the least- pensions for state and local employees. Sure, promise lots of benefits but don't fully fund the programs. Now we have a pension fund shortfall of around $1T. Where is that money going to come from?
The cost to American cities for their cash-strapped pension funds is starting to look a lot worse, and it’s not because the stock-market rally may be losing steam.
Houston was warned by Moody’s Investors Service this month that it may be downgraded because of mounting retirement bills, the latest municipality put on notice as the company ignores bookkeeping gimmicks that let cities mask the size of their debt for years. The approach foreshadows accounting rules (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-27/u-s-public-pension-funding-gaps-to-widen-under-new-rules) for even top-rated issuers that are poised to cause pension shortfalls to swell as new financial reports are released.
“If you’re AAA or AA rated and you’ve got significant and visible unfunded pension obligations, you’ve only got one direction to go in terms of rating, and that’s potentially down,” said Jeff Lipton, head of municipal research in New York at Oppenheimer & Co. “It’s the presentation on the balance sheet that is now going to drive urgency.”
Read more at the link.
Ivan88
07-18-2015, 04:05 AM
It's happened in other countries before. Promise the bureaucrats, teachers etc. a nice pension. When it's time to collect, something happens and the retirees get impoverished, get sick and die off.
Then you start over with the next crop.
It's just a part of the process of managing the people farm.
Peter1469
07-18-2015, 04:06 AM
That is a big part of Greece's current problems.
zelmo1234
07-18-2015, 04:10 AM
That is a big part of Greece's current problems.
Yes but our debt is different, just as any good liberal. that answer to our debt is to borrow more money.
Peter1469
07-18-2015, 04:18 AM
A truth about debt: it will be deleveraged on way or another. Once you accept that, you can get on the right side of the reckoning.
Common
07-18-2015, 04:41 AM
Here in this country pensions are underfunded to give Tax cuts to corporations and rich, like Chris Christie and Scott Walker. Christie added hundreds of millions to the pension debt by not paying the states half. He gave 4 times that in tax cuts that didnt create any jobs.
zelmo1234
07-18-2015, 04:47 AM
Here in this country pensions are underfunded to give Tax cuts to corporations and rich, like Chris Christie and Scott Walker. Christie added hundreds of millions to the pension debt by not paying the states half. He gave 4 times that in tax cuts that didnt create any jobs.
Yeah, going to need a link on that? Revenues have likely increased in these states. Not positive but what about states like IL what happened there
Also remember, the USA is have a record year in revenue collections, If you have not paid a little over 16 K in federal taxes since October 1st of last year? YOU are not paying your fair share.
zelmo1234
07-18-2015, 04:48 AM
This is why I love the fact that MI got out of the Pension business and moved to 401K programs
Once you give the money to the people, it is very hard to take it back.
Common
07-18-2015, 06:14 AM
This is why I love the fact that MI got out of the Pension business and moved to 401K programs
Once you give the money to the people, it is very hard to take it back.
zelmo why do you hate working class people and rail endlessly about anything they recieve to make their lives halfway decent and give them some security at the end of their lives. 401ks are at the will of wall street whether or not they will be there when it comes time for you to retire.
Worldcom and Enron alone screwed thousands out of their 401ks and many who were already retired lost their income. 401ks are wall street hedgefund manipulated BILLIONS and thats why the very rich wanted guaranteed pensions gone so they could manipulate 401k money.
Working class people have a right to work ALL their lives and have a guaranteed means to live with dignity when they can no longer work.
Companies and govs that RIPPED pensions an benefits off working class DID Not give them a raise in pay to pay for their own healthcare and pensions. They just stuck that money in their pockets.
Till I take my last breath I will stand by the side of the working class and that includes minimum wage workers.
Adelaide
07-18-2015, 07:23 AM
This is why I love the fact that MI got out of the Pension business and moved to 401K programs
Once you give the money to the people, it is very hard to take it back.
Government can get it right if they actually set it up responsibly. Our CPP (national pension plan) has an independent board (so, not government) as a Crown Corporation that makes investments to grow the investments made off of every pay cheque in Canada. They do have to report back to the government but they aren't run by the government. They basically act as an investment firm, but more responsibly. Our individual contributions (matched by our employers) alone won't sustain the program but using the money to make smart investments grows the pot. At $215 billion today, it is forecast to be up to $500+ billion by 2030 and the rate of return was almost 19% in this last quarter alone.
Most Canadians still invest into a private RRSP because CPP pays out a max of $1000/month, but CPP is an essential part of planning your retirement.
Anyways, my point is that government can do it right. The US seems unable to do it right. That doesn't mean all governments are incapable of planning a program responsibly.
Peter1469
07-18-2015, 08:48 AM
America was founded on rugged individualism, not efficient bureaucracy.
.
midcan5
07-18-2015, 09:40 AM
While my comment is a bit off topic, do any of you people hobnob with wealthy Americans? Sometimes those of us who grew up in very humble homes and lives shake our heads at the wealth of Americans at the top. They live a life most on here cannot even imagine, million dollar shore homes, feasts so ridiculously costly God must wonder. LOL Now how do they get so rich? Often it is connections and the particular inherited business. But a moral question arises since taxes for the wealthy keep falling, do they pay their fair share to a society that allows and supports their wealth. You can take it from here.
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/how_did_nj_get_into_this_pension_mess.html
"New Jersey’s pension funds were flush at the turn of the 21st century. But since 1996, governors from both parties have been underfunding the system, making payments far below what actuaries recommend.
The state skipped payments altogether from 2001 to 2004, when the annual required contribution called for $2.8 billion. And while the state was taking a pension holiday, it increased benefits for employees."
domer76
07-18-2015, 09:56 AM
This is why I love the fact that MI got out of the Pension business and moved to 401K programs
Once you give the money to the people, it is very hard to take it back.
Perhaps states should get out of the pension business and go to 401Ks. But the motherfuckers made a promise to their employees on their pensions and they need to stick with it.
Thank goodness in my state the pension fund is in great shape. The state made a promise to me that I would work my career for less money than the private sector and, at some point, I would be rewarded for my perseverance with a good retirement. In my case, both of us kept our end of the bargain.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.1.8 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.