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NEWS ABOUT: pension funds

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As US Hits Debt Limit, Treasury Taps Fed Pensions

Move staves off default until Aug. 2

(Newser) - Washington hit the debt ceiling today, barring the Treasury Department from borrowing from the public, so it will begin borrowing from federal workers’ pensions to keep the government afloat. Treasury is legally bound to reimburse the pensions, so retirees won't be affected, notes the Washington Post , but if the... More »

State Pension Funds Come Up $1.26T Short

Market losses, aging population leave funds in dire straits

(Newser) - States' pension and health care funds had a disastrous year in 2009, saving a whopping $1.26 trillion less than they’ll need to pay the retirement benefits they’ve promised to their workers, according to a new study from the Pew Center on the States. Part of the problem... More »

3 European Countries Grab at Private Pensions

Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland call for citizens' savings

(Newser) - As European governments seek new sources of revenue, private retirement plans are taking a hit. Since most are organized by the state, "European ministers of finance have a facilitated access to the savings accumulated there, and it is only logical that they try to get a hold of this... More »

Rattner Pays $10M to Settle Pension Fund Case

He admits no wrongdoing in case brought by Cuomo

(Newser) - New York's nasty legal fight between Andrew Cuomo and investment banker Steven Rattner—two of the city's major players in Democratic circles—is finally over. Rattner, who also served as President Obama's point man for the auto bailout, will pay $10 million to settle accusations that his company paid kickbacks... More »

Town's Pension Collapse Seen as Warning Across US

When fund ran dry, it stopped paying its retirees

(Newser) - When an Alabama town’s pension fund ran out, it simply stopped sending money to its retirees—a decision that’s never been made before, pension experts believe. That left retired public workers struggling: Some returned to work, one filed for bankruptcy, and one died with no electricity or running... More »

Cuomo Files $26M Suit Against Steve Rattner

Ex-auto czar vows to fight it

(Newser) - Talk about timing. On the same day that Steve Rattner got to trumpet GM’s new IPO , Andrew Cuomo filed a trio of lawsuits against the ex-auto czar related to a pay-to-play scandal involving New York’s pension fund. Cuomo’s asking for $26 million in damages, and a lifetime... More »

Nation's No. 3 Pension Fund Sues BP

New York fund has lost $575M because of the spill

(Newser) - New York's public pension fund is suing BP over huge losses caused by the oil giant's plunging stock price, CNNMoney reports. The New York State Common Retirement Fund—the third-largest public pension fund in the country—claims in a class-action lawsuit to have owned 19 million shares when the spill... More »

How to Kill the Chamber of Commerce...

...before its lobbyists do more damage on climate change, etc.

(Newser) - The Chamber of Commerce's outrageous stand against action on global warming, which has spurred a number of huge corporations to drop out, is not an anomaly, says Eliot Spitzer. From environmental protection to deregulation to fiscal policy to health care reform, it’s always on the wrong side of history,... More »

Losses Plunge Pension Funds Into Crisis

(Newser) - Pension funds for police officers, teachers and other public employees are going broke  the Washington Post reports, with such steep losses in the financial crisis that they'll have less than half what they need to cover benefits within 15 years. That puts local governments in a painful bind: They... More »

Rattner May Have Quit Over Pay-to-Play Settlement

New York AG targets ex-car czar's company

(Newser) - Washington is dying to know why Steven Rattner quit after just months as President Obama’s car czar. One possible reason: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is pushing for a legal settlement with his company for its part in a pay-to-play scandal surrounding the state’s pension fund, sources... More »

Carlyle to Pay $20M to Settle Pension Probe

Private equity firm adopts ethics rules to end Cuomo inquiry

(Newser) - The Carlyle Group will pay a $20 million settlement and adopt strict new ethics rules to appease New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cuomo had threatened to bring charges against the group or its employees as part of his pay-to-play probe into New York’s... More »

NYC Probes Rattner's Firm in Pension Scandal

Quadrangle paid finders fees to indicted adviser's company

(Newser) - New York City authorities are investigating whether Quadrangle Group, formerly led by Obama car czar Steven Rattner, deceived managers of the city's pension funds, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rattner's firm, Quadrangle, paid finders fees to Searle & Co., which had been headed by now-indicted political adviser Hank Morris,... More »

Generous Pensions Toppling Hungarian Economy

Public spending dilemma threatens to engulf Eastern Europe

(Newser) - Pensions are at the heart of the Hungarian financial crisis threatening to drag down the Eastern European economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Three out of every 10 Hungarians currently collects a generous government pension, but the cost—around 10% of GDP and rising—has made the country's deficit unmanageable,... More »

Companies Desperate to Roll Back Pension Support

A 2006 law requiring firms to replenish pension loses may be latest victim of meltdown

(Newser) - Wall Street’s meltdown has diminished the value of US pension funds by $250 billion and cash-strapped companies are asking lawmakers to give them relief from rules that require them to make up the losses, reports the New York Times. The rules, designed to strengthen the pension system in the... More »

Crisis Drains $2T From Retirement Savings

Tumbling values may mean more workers have to stay on jobs longer, retire later

(Newser) - The financial crisis has drained $2 trillion from Americans' retirement savings over the  past 15 months, reports the Washington Post, a 20% drop in the value of pensions and 401(k) plans that may force many to retire later and could spread to the general economy as workers tighten belts further.... More »

Tough Times Ground Hedge Fund High-Fliers

Specialized investment industry dragged back to earth by shaky market

(Newser) - The recent market turmoil has taken a good deal of the shine off of hedge funds, as managers are unable to reproduce their heretofore exemplary results in poor market conditions, the New York Times reports. The average hedge fund lost 4% this year, the worst overall results in the industry’... More »

Wall Street May Scoop Up Troubled Pension Plans

Businesses stand to benefit, but opponents worry about big guns' motives

(Newser) - Though still smarting from the subprime debacle, some of the Wall Street’s biggest players are lobbying the government to be allowed to buy up and manage some of the $2.3 trillion in US corporate pension funds, BusinessWeek reports. Many businesses, eager to get the plans off their books,... More »

Social Responsibility Costs Calif. Pension Funds Billions

Keeping pension money out of tobacco, emerging markets has cost billions

(Newser) - California's plan to put state pension funds in socially responsible investments means those funds are worth billions less than they would be if they'd been allowed to invest in tobacco companies and emerging markets, BusinessWeek reports. The initiative, launched in 2000, also pushed investment in California real estate—where the... More »

Where's Oil Money Going? Maybe to Your Pension

Petroleum proceeds boost retirement funds

(Newser) - Wall Street brokers and energy speculators aren’t the only ones lining their pockets thanks to skyrocketing oil prices, the Washington Post reports. Many pension funds have pushed heavily into commodities, bringing big returns in a time of economic strife. “Our commodity investment has really helped,” said the... More »

Many Retirees Will Have Less Than They Think

Economist compares direct-benefit to direct-contribution plans

(Newser) - Many employees will enter retirement with a much smaller income than they expect, the Economist reports. By 2014, the amount of money saved in direct-contribution retirement plans—ie 401Ks—will outpace than the amount saved in old-fashioned direct-benefit plans. But workers set contributions to their DC schemes at lower levels... More »

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