Some states cutting benefits for public-sector retirees
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Some states cutting benefits for public-sector retirees
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie this week released details of his proposal to reduce public-sector retirement pay. Other states, including Ohio, are facing similar issues with funding the public pensions.
Christie's plan includes: repealing an increase in benefits approved years ago; eliminating automatic cost-of-living adjustments; raising the retirement age to 65 from 60 in many cases; reducing pension payouts for many future retirees; and requiring some employees to contribute more to their pensions.
"We must reverse the damage caused by fairy-tale promises that have fattened benefits and pensions to unsustainable levels," the governor said in a report by The Associated Press.
"Since 2008, New Jersey and at least 19 other states from Wyoming to Rhode Island have rolled back pension benefits or seriously considered doing do — and not just for new hires, but for current employees and people already retired," the AP said.
Christie had warned the state that New Jersey's pension fund will go broke unless something is done to close the $46 billion gap between how much the state expects to bring into the system and how much it has promised to retired workers.
The Pew Center on the States reported this year that in eight states, at least one-third of the future pension obligations for all public employees, including teachers, are unfunded. As of 2008, Pew said, state and local governments had pension obligations totaling $3.35 trillion — $1 trillion of that not covered by the future stream of government and employee contributions specified under current law.
In Ohio, the State Teachers Retirement System and the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund have asked the state Legislature for increased taxpayer contributions to keep the funds solvent.
There's also an issue of public scrutiny of the pension funds in Ohio.
Earlier this week, Mike DeWine, Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General, called on incumbent Attorney General Richard Cordray to end his standoff with the Ohio News Organization and advise Ohio’s pension systems to make non-personal information about the funds available to the public.
“Ohio newspapers, or any other member of the public, have a right to know how their tax money is being spent,” DeWine said.
All five of Ohio's public employee pension funds denied a request from the Ohio News Organization, a collaboration of the state's largest newspapers, to provide details about service time, pay and benefits for each of their 400,000 recipients. Identifying names would have been excluded.
Last week, both John Kasich and Ted Strickland agreed and took the public position that Richard Cordray was wrong to advise keeping pension fund records secret, DeWine said.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie this week released details of his proposal to reduce public-sector retirement pay. Other states, including Ohio, are facing similar issues with funding the public pensions.
Christie's plan includes: repealing an increase in benefits approved years ago; eliminating automatic cost-of-living adjustments; raising the retirement age to 65 from 60 in many cases; reducing pension payouts for many future retirees; and requiring some employees to contribute more to their pensions.
"We must reverse the damage caused by fairy-tale promises that have fattened benefits and pensions to unsustainable levels," the governor said in a report by The Associated Press.
"Since 2008, New Jersey and at least 19 other states from Wyoming to Rhode Island have rolled back pension benefits or seriously considered doing do — and not just for new hires, but for current employees and people already retired," the AP said.
Christie had warned the state that New Jersey's pension fund will go broke unless something is done to close the $46 billion gap between how much the state expects to bring into the system and how much it has promised to retired workers.
The Pew Center on the States reported this year that in eight states, at least one-third of the future pension obligations for all public employees, including teachers, are unfunded. As of 2008, Pew said, state and local governments had pension obligations totaling $3.35 trillion — $1 trillion of that not covered by the future stream of government and employee contributions specified under current law.
In Ohio, the State Teachers Retirement System and the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund have asked the state Legislature for increased taxpayer contributions to keep the funds solvent.
There's also an issue of public scrutiny of the pension funds in Ohio.
Earlier this week, Mike DeWine, Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General, called on incumbent Attorney General Richard Cordray to end his standoff with the Ohio News Organization and advise Ohio’s pension systems to make non-personal information about the funds available to the public.
“Ohio newspapers, or any other member of the public, have a right to know how their tax money is being spent,” DeWine said.
All five of Ohio's public employee pension funds denied a request from the Ohio News Organization, a collaboration of the state's largest newspapers, to provide details about service time, pay and benefits for each of their 400,000 recipients. Identifying names would have been excluded.
Last week, both John Kasich and Ted Strickland agreed and took the public position that Richard Cordray was wrong to advise keeping pension fund records secret, DeWine said.
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