Stuff in the ‘Pension and Benefit Crisis’ Category
A Small Pension Win for Teachers but Truth In Accounting’s “F” Grade for NJ Shows Why NJ Cannot Afford More
Posted On10/16/2025 byDesperate to change the subject from wasting $45 million of members’ dues on former-NJEA President Spiller’s vanity run for governor, the NJEA is claiming a “huge” pension victory for teachers. But the victory is small and incremental, and the NJEA’s touting it shows how badly the NJEA wants to show that they actually have teachers’…Read More
A Lose-Lose for Teachers: NJEA Wastes $45 Million of Their Dues and Diminishes the NJEA’s Political Clout When It’s Really Needed
Posted On07/25/2025 byNot only did NJEA leadership waste $45 million of teachers’ dues on NJEA President Sean Spiller’s vanity run for governor, they also have hurt their ability to influence policy decisions that really matter to teachers. Both teacher health benefits and pension plans require political solutions just when the NJEA has lost political clout due to…Read More
Another Unsustainable Budget Signed by Gov. Murphy: The Special Interests Win and NJ Loses. Again.
Posted On07/02/2025 byAs we have said many times, Gov. Murphy is a status quo governor. He was elected with the support of New Jersey’s powerful, taxpayer-funded government unions, especially its largest, the NJEA, which spent over $20 million supporting Murphy. Murphy has repaid the favor by largely governing for their benefit. The result is another unsustainable FY2026…Read More
Young Teachers Are Forced into a Lousy Pension System. There Is a Better Alternative.
Posted On11/08/2024 byAs our readers know, Sunlight has opined on New Jersey’s public pension crisis, particularly the woeful condition of the teachers’ pension plan, the Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF). A recent report puts TPAF’s funded ratio at 39% (39 cents set aside for every dollar owed), the “most underfunded in the nation.” We would add…Read More
NJ Ranked 49th Out of 50 States for Financial Condition: A “F” for Every Year Under Gov. Murphy
Posted On10/22/2024 byAnother dismal ranking for New Jersey’s financial condition under Gov. Murphy. New Jersey’s long-term financial condition ranked 49th out of the 50 states, according to Truth In Accounting’s “Financial State of the States 2024.” That’s an improvement from 50th last year, but New Jersey has still been dead last in the nation for 8 of…Read More
FY2025 Budget: Our Status Quo Governor Takes Care of His Government Union Pals While Leaving His State with an Unsustainable Budget
Posted On07/08/2024 byGov. Murphy is a status quo governor. He was elected with the support of New Jersey’s powerful, taxpayer-funded government unions, especially its largest, the NJEA, which spent over $20 million supporting Murphy. Murphy has repaid the favor by largely governing for their benefit. The FY2025 budget is no exception. Another record-high budget at $56.6 billion…Read More
Despite Gov. Murphy’s Happy Talk, Another Study Ranks NJ Dead Last for Fiscal Health
Posted On04/23/2024 byAnother report comparing the fiscal health of the 50 states, another last place finish for New Jersey. Gov. Murphy likes to talk about his fiscal responsibility but the numbers say otherwise. A recent Cato Institute study looked at the audited 2022 financial reports ranked the 50 states by their Unrestricted Net Position (UNP). UNP is…Read More
Strong 2023 Investment Returns But Teachers’ Pension Plan Is Still in Trouble
Posted On08/01/2023 byThe Star-Ledger reports that state pension investments have “raked in huge gains” so far this year, but the structurally unsound state pension system is still in trouble. It is of course good news that stock markets have had strong returns this year and that state pension plan assets have rebounded after a dismal 2022. And…Read More
Sweeney Center Warns of “Fiscal Crisis” When Revenue Windfalls Go Away. What Happens with $7 Billion Pension Payments?
Posted On06/30/2023 bySunlight has long warned about New Jersey’s fiscal condition. In particular, we have focused on Gov. Murphy’s decision to accommodate his biggest political supporter, the NJEA, by choosing to make the full required pension payment rather than doing the hard work of reforming the teachers’ pension fund (TPAF), the largest and most distressed of the…Read More
New Jersey Gets Bond-Rating Upgrades, But Many Challenges Remain for the Future
Posted On04/18/2023 byThe good news: all three bond-rating agencies upgraded their ratings for New Jersey’s bonds for the second time in the last year. The upgrades are good news in that they reflect an improved fiscal condition, largely due to efforts to address New Jersey’s substantial long-term debt burden. The Murphy administration is taking victory laps, but…Read More