pensions news stories on Newser

Big Biz Seeking to Cut Pension Funding

Rob Quinn — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:30:00 CST

Low interest rates are forcing major employers to put too much money into their pension funds, according to business groups urging Congress to allow contributions to be cut. A measure attached to the Senate highway bill would change the formula major employers use to calculate contributions to defined-benefit pension plans,...

Paterno Up for $500K Pension

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:14:00 CST

Joe Paterno may be out his 46-year career at Penn State, but chances are he won't be going hungry: Joe Pa looks to be in line for a pension of more than $500,000 a year. The AP analyzed state public pension records and determined that Paterno, who has more...

Penis Pump Judge Loses Pension

Rob Quinn — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:40:30 CDT

An Oklahoma judge who used a sexual device under his robe while presiding over jury trials has been stripped of his pension. Donald Thompson—who served 20 months in prison for indecent exposure after being caught using a penis pump—violated his oath of office and has no right to...

Britain Hit By Massive Public Worker Strike

Kevin Spak — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:09:15 CDT

Britain’s public sector ground to a halt today as hundreds of thousands of workers walked off the job in protest of changes to their pension plans. Roughly a third of the country’s schools had to close, with many of the rest running on skeleton staffs, the New York Times reports....

As US Hits Debt Limit, Treasury Taps Fed Pensions

Matt Cantor — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:41:39 CDT

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 debt...

State Pension Funds Come Up $1.26T Short

Kevin Spak — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:00:00 CDT

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 is that...

Town's Pension Collapse Seen as Warning Across US

Matt Cantor — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:16:28 CST

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 water at...

Strikes Costing France $557M a Day

Rob Quinn — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:36:53 CDT

French workers fighting a plan to raise the retirement age to 62 are costing the country's economy over $500 million a day, the nation's finance minister warned yesterday. Oil refineries have been blocked for nearly two weeks and uncollected garbage has been piling up in several cities—but the protest...

The Next Big Crash: Japan

Kevin Spak — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:19:00 CDT

The next great economic catastrophe could be looming in Japan, according to one financial analyst. “We try to avoid hyberbole as much as possible,” writes Hedgeye analyst Darius Dale in Fortune . But after examining Japan’s aging population and pension obligations, “we have to say that, in our opinion, they represent...