Blog: Pension Politics

Hedge funds are "basically a conduit between public pension funds and Greenwich real estate agents."

Why would we keep putting new people into poorly funded, poorly designed retirement plans?

In the fantasy world where all teachers stay in one state for a 30-year career, state pension plans do a bang-up job of delivering benefits to workers. That’s just not the reality of the world we live in.

An Illinois judge has ruled unconstitutional the state's 2013 pension reform law. That is potentially very problematic for new teachers and those who aren't yet teaching.

Through their unions, teachers bargain with school districts over almost every aspect of schooling. Everything, that is, except pensions.

What are the implications of last night’s midterm elections for pensions?

Public pension plans have ridden rising stock markets to their highest asset values ever. Yet, rising assets have not made much of a dent in the long-term unfunded debt. How could this be?

It's possible to design a 401(k)-style retirement plan that supports workers in meeting their retirement savings needs.

Charter schools and their teachers pay the same high employer and employee contribution rates as all other schools, but higher turnover rates mean their teachers will get much less in return.

A few quick thoughts on Gina Raimondo's victory in the Democratic primary to become Rhode Island's next governor.