Trump Administration Negotiates Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Package
The Trump Administration appears to have made a break-through in negotiating terms for a $4.7 billion Community Disaster Loan to rebuild Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
unfunded pension
California Cities Spiking Taxes to Pay Spiking Pension Costs
California cities are being forced to spike taxes to pay for spiking public employee pension funding costs.
UC Dodging Public Pension Contributions by Borrowing the Money
The University of California, which dodged funding its public pension contributions for two decades, is again dodging paying cash by borrowing the money to make pension payments.
San Diego Begins to Solve the Pension Problem — as California Sinks
California’s total public employee pension debt of $2.067 trillion is still climbing fast, but the City of San Diego’s is shrinking after five years of only giving new employees a 401(k).
California Supreme Court Set to Slash Public Pension Benefits
For decades, California courts have prevented any cuts to luxurious public employee pensions, but the California Supreme Court is now reviewing arguments in a case that could allow slashing benefits.
Obama Appoints Puerto Rico Control Board after Bond Default
The Obama administration has picked seven people to serve on a financial control board overseeing the restructuring of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s $70 billion debt burden and $43 billion unfunded pension liability. Under congressional legislation signed after the island
California Appeals Court Denies Pension Spiking as Legal Right
A ruling by the California Appeals Court could terminate public employee unions’ claims that public pension spiking creates a legal contract under the “California Rule.” The ruling could overturn up to $250 billion of pension spiking.
Puerto Rico’s $70 Billion Defaulted Debt Jumps to $113 Billion
With a Congressionally appointed federal control board about to take over Puerto Rico’s finances, the U.S. territory just admitted that its massively spiked public pension plan owes another $43 billion.
10% of Taxes Go to Pensions in 5 CA Counties
Santa Barbara County, Kern County, Fresno County, San Mateo County and Ventura County now spend about 10 percent or more of their total revenue on pension contributions, according to a new study.
CalPERS vs. Jerry Brown over Pension Contributions
The CalPERS Board voted to refuse California Gov. Jerry Brown’s modest demand to decrease their expected pension investment returns by a tiny 0.2% year, because the impact would have increased pension contribution costs by about $1.2 billion across nearly 800,000 employees–about $125 per month, on average.
CalPERS is Rainbows, Butterflies and Unicorns
The California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) has announced that its solvency has improved and that it is only $89.7 billion underfunded. Unfortunately, CalPERS’s purported solvency of percentage of 77% assumes the fantasy that it can conservatively compound its annual earnings at 7.5% without any losses. But if CalPERS only earns 4.5% a year–a rate conservative private pensions often shoot for–the fund’s long-term liability is a staggering $290 billion.