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| Name: | Government plans - state and local - misc (BenefitsLink.com) |
| Description: | Headlines re Government plans - state and local - misc, gathered by BenefitsLink.com |
| Site URL: | http://benefitslink.com/ |
| Category: | /Business/Employment/ |
| RSS feed URL: | http://www.benefitslink.com/rdf/benefitslink-governmentplans.rdf |
| Syndic8 ID: | 1888 |
| Language: | en |
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25 most recent entries:
[Opinion] Triple-Dipping? Florida Retirement System Fatally Flawed (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "Florida has no limit on the number of state pensions someone can get. And unlike states where it is illegal to receive a pension and return to the same public job and pay, Florida has no such law. Unlike states where it is illegal to work in the public sector in the same retirement system without giving up a pension, Florida has no such law. And prospects for the enactment of such a law appear dim in this legislative session.
California Assembly Panel Passes State-Run IRA Proposal (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "The bill envisions the Employment Development Department using its existing automated system for collecting payroll taxes to allow workers to have contributions deducted from their paychecks. CalPERS is renowned for its investing prowess, supporters say, and could use a contractor to service the accounts, such as mailing statements and maintaining a Web site. If the retirement system tapped into a large market, the big pool of investors would create economies of scale." (The Sacramento Bee)
Issue on the Way Knox County, TN Reported - or Failed to Report - Pension Contributions for Years (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "[T]he county Finance Department, at the behest of pension board attorneys, began reporting employee pension contributions to the Internal Revenue Service as of July 1, 2007. . . .
Critics Speak Against Pennsylvania Pension Calculation Proposal (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "There appears to be little support for legislation that would exclude overtime pay from pension calculations for state employees hired after June 30. . . .
[Opinion] Getting Off the Pension Contribution Rollercoaster (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "A small New England community organization with fewer than 100 employees wanted a predictable contribution pattern for its defined benefit plan. The funding policy was that contributions would increase 3% per year, on par with the expected long-term salary increases. In reality, however, contribution requirements climbed for several years to much higher levels -- a 79% increase in one year, for example. Changes in federal pension laws were a factor in creating this volatility.
California Bill Would Help Workers Save More (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "Workers who aren't offered a retirement savings plan by their employers would be able to set up a 401(k)-style account through the state of California, under a proposal unveiled Tuesday by a Democratic lawmaker and backed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger." (San Jose Mercury News)
Charles County, MD, Official's Eligibility For Pension at Issue (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "Charles County officials improperly added an elected state official to county pension rolls last year, arranging for the employee to earn as much as $75,000 a year after she retires." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Court Finds Cracks in California's Medical Leave Law (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "The California Supreme Court has given employers some leeway to challenge workers' claims that they are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave. The justices issued a mixed ruling Monday on the meaning of the 1993 state law that allows employees to take time off and be reinstated without penalty, when they are unable to perform basic job functions because of a serious health condition." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Actuary Says Pension Plan Assessment Raised City of Chattanooga's Cost (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "A Cheiron actuary responded to another actuarial firm's assessment of Chattanooga's fire and police pension fund by saying the deferred retirement option plan, or DROP, increased the city's cost because of incorrect assumptions." (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
SEC Charges Five Ex-Officials in San Diego Municipal Bonds Fraud (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil fraud charges against five former San Diego city officials -- mostly finance professionals -- for their roles in the city's financial crisis in 2002 and 2003. The SEC charged the individuals for failing to disclose to investors buying the city's municipal bonds that there were funding problems with San Diego's pension and retiree health care obligations and those liabilities had put the city in financial peril." (CFO.com)
Massachusetts High Court to Decide If Car Use Drives Public Pension Boost (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "[T]he state's highest court [will] decide once and for all an issue that has popped up all over the state -- whether public employees who get to take home a vehicle at night are entitled to claim that as a form of compensation in order to boost their pensions." (The Eagle-Tribune)
Omaha, Nebraska, Police Union's Offer Does Little — If Anything — to Roll Back Lucrative Police Pensions (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "Work for the Omaha Police Department 30 years, then retire with an annual pension that is just 1 percent less than your on-the-job wages. That's what the Omaha Police Union is proposing to the city as part of the ongoing contract negotiations, according to a recent union contract offer obtained by The World-Herald." (Omaha World-Herald)
SEC Charges Five Ex-San Diego Officials with Fraud (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) news release said the five ex-officials knew that the city's pension funding shortfall was projected to leap from $284 million in 2002 to $2 billion seven years later. They also knew the city's liability for retiree health care was another estimated $1.1 billion, the regulators alleged." (PLANSPONSOR.
Schwarzenegger Backs Opening CalPERS to Private Sector (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday that he will back a proposal to open the California Public Employees Retirement System to the private sector. Schwarzenegger issued a statement before an afternoon press conference held by Assemblyman Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, to announce the plan. De León's Assembly Bill 2940 would allow low- and moderate-income Californians whose employers don't offer retirement savings plans to put money into the California Employee Savings Program.
Oklahoma State Pension's Retirement Benefit Loophole Shut (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "Members of a House committee voted Thursday to close a loophole that allows some state workers to obtain greater retirement benefits than they ever earned in monthly pay as a state employee. Senate Bill 1641 would ensure that elected officials will not receive retirement benefits 'greater than their single highest annual compensation received as a member of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System.'" (NewsOK.com)
New York's 'Public Pension Bomb' Ticking Away As Municipalities Face Skyrocketing Payments to Statewide System (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "Part of the problem, according to reform advocates, involves a system that allows many public employees to boost pensions by working vast amounts of overtime in their final year or years of service, on which their pensions are based." (The Buffalo News)
Walnut Creek, CA Part-Time Workers Have to Decide on Apple Program That Is Alternative to Social Security (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "This month, about 175 part-time and temporary Walnut Creek employees must decide whether to continue contributing to Social Security or take an alternative retirement program. All new part-time and temporary employees who work less than 1,000 hours a year will have no choice: They will be enrolled in a deferred compensation plan that takes effect May 30." (Contra Costa Times)
New Jersey Can Skip Teacher Pension Payments (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "The ruling by Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg in Mercer County removes the threat that lawmakers, already grappling with a strained state budget, would have to find $2.6 billion to make up for pension contributions that have been skipped since 2003." (The Star-Ledger)
San Diego City Council Approves Pension Changes (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "[During a 10-hour meeting, the city council] took one crucial action – to accept pension changes that clear the way for the city retirement system to end nearly three years of tax troubles." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
[Opinion] South Carolina Legislators About to Sweeten Their Pension Perk (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "[S.C. lawmakers provide pensions] for themselves out of our pockets. More particularly, .
[Opinion] Florida Teachers Due Retirement Reform (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "All Florida school districts must change their tax-deferred retirement plans by Jan. 1. That requirement created a window of opportunity to solve a longstanding problem and ensure that teachers get a far better deal on retirement funds than they are currently getting." (The Tampa Tribune)
Allentown, PA Pension Dispute Comes Down to One Word - Interpretation of 'Achieves' Crux of Fight Between City, Police (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "The interpretation of a single word in a court document may resolve the debate over whether Allentown police officers can retire after working 11 years if they have prior military experience." (The Morning Call)
In Alaska, Pension Obligation Bonds Pass (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "The Alaska Legislature has agreed to give the state another financial tool - albeit a somewhat risky one - to help pay down a massive debt in its retirement systems. On Thursday, the Senate unanimously approved a House bill authorizing the state to issue pension obligations bonds." (AP via Forbes.com)
Chart: Employer Premiums for Medical Care Plans in State and Local Government (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "Employer premiums in state and local government averaged $394.48 per month for single coverage medical plans, and $783.59 per month for family coverage in September 2007." (U.
Judge Rules Against New Jersey Teachers in Case Involving Pension Payments (Apr 11 2008 02:53 GMT)
Excerpt: "A state Superior Court judge rejected a teachers' union lawsuit Wednesday aimed at forcing the state to pay $2.6 billion to make up for shortfalls in the teachers' pension system. The ruling rebuffed the New Jersey Education Association's claims that the state broke contractual promises by underfunding the teachers' retirement system in recent years. Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg wrote that there is still enough money to pay for decades of benefits, despite growing deficits.
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