Pension / Retirement Crisis Is Becoming An Underfunded ‘Tsunami’ According to The SEC

The Daily Coin ^ | 10/22/2018

[NEMDF]

About 98% of my “pension” will be funded by my personal savings. No half by public funds. No public funds have paid for my health, dental, or vision insurance over 40-some years, either.

Have never gotten any “cost of living” raises or raises based on “time in service”, “market adjustments” or additional degree hours.

I have never worked anywhere that didn’t expect me to show up for work for about 240 days per year, after holidays and “vacation”.

I hope and pray that I am not asked to pay more propping up the “underfunded public employee pension plans”, or I will be living in a refrigerator box under a bridge.

[NYAmerican]

“But if any of them were intelligent enough to understand this, they’d be Republicans by now.”

I hope that was a typo, and you meant “Conservatives by now”.

[MrEdd]

To be honest, this entire thread and every single other thread on the topic belongs in chat.
No exceptions.

In the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies the topic of unfunded pensions was debated ad nauseam in the Tulsa World (democrat morning paper) and in the Tulsa Tribune (republican evening paper) and people either fell into the camp of “this will eventually crash and burn” or “by the time this is a problem a new source of money will magically appear”. The folks who took the latter position really meant that they would be long dead or at least out of office when the crash came.

Here we are.
Water is wet.
The sun rises in the east.
Things not paid for collapse.
All of which are proper topics for chat, and not one of which is in any way, shape, or form news.

[hanamizu]

No public funds have paid for my health, dental, or vision insurance over 40-some years, either.

---

My school district’s taxpayers did pay for health & dental insurance (but not vision) for most of my career. They did not however pay for my wife’s. That came out of my pocket. I was only paid for the 180 days that I was at work. When I was first employed, I was allowed the option of receiving 9 paychecks for 9 months, but because teachers aren’t necessarily great budgeters, an option was offered that the same sum could be distributed over 12 checks. This option became mandatory when districts realized that they could pocket the interest that spreading out the payments earned them.

I did (but not always) get a bump up in salary for time served, but finally reached the top of the salary schedule and got no more raises. I could have made more had I pursued a master’s degree, but I saw no improvement the teaching abilities of those did.

I too, hope you aren’t “asked” (they won’t ask, they’ll demand) to pay more to prop up failing pensions plans. My hope is both selfish and altruistic. Some states are in big messes. Illinois, about 5 miles from me is one.

[Poundstone]

Very glad my pension and health insurance are covered by the federal government, not a state or local government.

[PAR35]

If the Fed raises interest rates, a big chunk of the pension crisis will go away. Low yields are a major component.

[cherry]

The govt workers....all of them...know it’s a RIP off of tax payers and UNDESERVED on their part but what do they care..they can retire late 40’s or early 50’s.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: To be honest, this entire thread
And every single other thread on this topic belongs in chat.

It IS in the chat forum.

[trebb]

He was correct - DOD Civilians aren't all left wing....after 24 years in uniform and another 15 as a DOD civilian, I had lots of opportunities to observe.....I'd guess maybe 30% qualify as being fairly conservative...quite disappointing but even the Active Duty is probably under 60% these days...