Stuff in the ‘Pension and Benefit Crisis’ Category
Despite a Record Payment and Much Happy-Talk from Gov. Murphy, NJ’s Public Pensions Remain in Deep Trouble
Posted On01/26/2022 bySunlight wants to amplify a highly credible report that sounds the alarm on NJ’s public pensions by Andrew Biggs (of the American Enterprise Institute) for the Garden State Initiative (GSI). The bottom line: Because NJ’s pension system remains unreformed, Gov. Murphy’s record $6.9 billion pension payment was “money down the drain” and NJ’s public pensions remain in…Read More
Another Study Rates Teachers’ Pension Fund As One of the Worst in the Nation; 2021’s Stellar Returns Won’t Change That
Posted On12/07/2021 byA third reputable institution has found the New Jersey teachers’ pension fund to be one of the very worst in the nation. First it was the Center for Retirement Research, then the Brookings Institution, and now Bellwether Education Partners‘ has published its own ranking of state teachers’ pension funds. NJEdReport has already done its (usual)…Read More
Federal Money Shores Up NJ’s Budget, But Gov. Murphy Opts for Election-Year Spending Rather than a Sustainable Path
Posted On07/21/2021 byThe gusher of federal money has certainly been a boon to New Jersey as well as other states. This has had a number of positive ramifications, most importantly filling state coffers so that even perpetually in-deficit state governments like NJ’s are now running budgetary surpluses. This has allowed NJ to increase spending (in an election…Read More
Contra NJ Spotlight, NJ Public Pensions Are Still in Trouble and Need Reform
Posted On07/08/2021 byA surprising puff piece on NJ pensions from NJ Spotlight’s John Reitmeyer, who is usually a very good, fair reporter. Yes, it’s true that NJ is making a record payment into its woefully underfunded public pensions, and, yes, it’s true that stellar investment returns boosted pension assets to $90.6 billion (from $84.9 billion as of…Read More
Tax Foundation: NJ Pensions Are the Worst Funded in the Nation. Why Is Gov. Murphy Pouring in Billions of Good Money After Bad?
Posted On06/07/2021 byJust as Politico is reporting that Gov. Murphy is considering making a payment even larger than last year’s $6.4 billion (14% of the entire state budget) into NJ’s broken public pension system, the Tax Foundation came out with a report that underscored how Murphy is throwing billions of good money after bad. The report determined that…Read More
Star-Ledger Publishes Sunlight Op-Ed: Teachers Need To Be Told the Truth About Their Pensions
Posted On05/05/2021 byN.J. teachers need to be told the truth: Their pensions are in jeopardy | Opinion Today 9:37 AM as of June 30, 2020, New Jersey had less than 25 cents set aside for every dollar it owed for teachers’ pensions. With such a low funded-level, Brookings makes clear that this amounts to throwing billions of…Read More
State Pension Report: TPAF Assets Down, Liabilities Up, Funded Ratio at 24.6%
Posted On04/19/2021 byMore bad news on the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF), New Jersey’s largest public pension fund currently covering 262,000 active and retired teachers. Last week, we wrote about the Brookings Institute report that both confirmed that TPAF was the worst public pension plan in America and projected that it would become insolvent in the…Read More
New Brookings Report: NJ Teachers’ Pension Fund on Path to “Near-Term” Insolvency
Posted On04/14/2021 byIn the wonky world of pensions, a new report by the Brookings Institution made some news because of its rather optimistic take on the fate of America’s public pensions. The authors argue that due to recent reforms, in the long run, most plans are sustainable with relatively modest adjustments. Except for New Jersey’s Teachers’ Pension and…Read More
Senate President Sweeney Regrets Borrowing $4.3 Billion in Very Expensive Bonds
Posted On03/26/2021 byIt’s the rare occasion when a New Jersey politician is honest with the public, so kudos to Senate President Steve Sweeney for telling it straight. NorthJersey.com reports that Sweeney now regrets the 2020 issuance of $4.3 billion in bonds in expectation of COVID-related revenue shortfalls. And rightfully so. Even though the $4.3 billion in bonds…Read More
Kudos to the Record’s Charlie Stile: Borrowing $4.3 Billion to Make a $6.4 Billion Pension Payment is POBs All Over Again.
Posted On02/25/2021 byThe Record’s Charlie Stile is one of the very few people in NJ who recognize that Gov. Murphy is effectively reprising the disastrous 1997 Pension Obligation Bonds (POBs) of Gov. Whitman. The $2.75 billion in POBs will ultimately cost NJ more than $10 billion. That’s the reason the legislature subsequently banned POBs. Per Stile: “Yet, Murphy’s rescue…Read More