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Welcome

The oncoming wave of public pension debt is even bigger than it seems. The purpose of this website is to provide an overview of the multiple pension crises that are about to drown America's taxpayers. Our primary focus is on California, but we also track other state pension funds, corporate pensions, milti-employer pension funds, social security and international trends. Now in its 15th year, PensionTsunami was founded by and is edited by Jack Dean. (Contact: JackDean-at-PensionTsunami-dot-com or 916-644-0688 or @PensionTsunami)

Latest Newsclips     last updated July 10 12:18pm PST

Each day's headline summary is e-mailed to subscribers.

July 10, 2020

• As of 4:20 AM (Pacific Time):
• CalPERS Plans to Blow Its Brains Out (Yves Smith / Naked Capitalism)
• Clout of Minneapolis Police Union Boss Reflects National Trend (Douglas Belkin, Chris Maher & Deanna Paul / Wall Street Journal)$$

July 9, 2020

• Updated at 9:50 AM (Pacific) -- FINAL:
• Will Public Pensions In Illinois -- and Elsewhere -- Crash? Here’s What Will Make The Difference (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• Riskier Bet: Why CalPERS, the Country’s Largest Pension Fund, Is Getting Into Banking (Ben Christopher / CALmatters)
• The Surprisingly Risk-Free Origin of Public Pension Investment Return Assumptions (Marc Joffe / Reason)
• Don’t Reform Police Unions. Abolish Them (column - Jeff Jacoby / Boston Globe)
• Updated at 7:30 AM (Pacific):
• Special Report: With 'Judges Judging Judges,' Rogues on the Bench Have Little to Fear (Michael Berens & John Shiffman / Reuters)
• California’s Pandemic-Era 2020-2021 Budget Passes, But Hinges on Federal Aid (Marielle Argueza / Monterey County Weekly)

July 7, 2020

• Public Pensions and the COVID-19 Fiscal Dilemma (Girard Miller / Governing)
• Public Pension Reckoning Delayed With Stimulus Pumping Up Stocks (Martin Z Braun / Bloomberg)$$
• Woman Dictating Los Angeles County Shutdowns Isn’t a Medical Doctor, Paid More Than $500,000 (Jennifer Van Laar / Red State)

July 6, 2020

• What It’s Like to Stand Up to a Police Union (op-ed - Cecilia Iglesias / Long Beach Press-Telegram)
• How Government Unions Punish Those Who Serve the Public Interest (blog - Robert Fellner / Transparent California)
• Chicago’s Pension Debt Soared $1.7 Billion in 2019: City Analysis (Heather Cherone / WTTW)

July 3, 2020

• The Very First Fourth of July (Clay Jenkinson / Governing)
• Court Rules for Retirees in Pension Daispute With Providence (CT Post)

July 2, 2020

• Police Unions’ Power Wanes, But How About Teachers? (Dan Walters / CALmatters)

July 1, 2020

• Firefighting in Orange County -- Part Three, Placentia’s War for Independence (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Committee OKs Buyouts for Soon-To-Retire Los Angeles City Employees (City News Service / Los Angeles Daily News)
• Coronavirus Aid Should Go Directly to the People (Lanhee J. Chen & David Crane / The Hill)

June 30, 2020

• Supreme Court Decision in Thole v. US Bank: A Potential Concern for Public Pension Plans? (Caleb Durling / BenefitsPro)

June 29, 2020

• Recession Rocks State and Local Pension Funds, 'Funding Gap’ Possible (Ralph Chapoco / Bloomberg)

June 26, 2020

• Orange County Pension Fund [OCERS] to Increase Private-Equity Pace (Preeti Singh / Wall Street Journal)

June 25, 2020

• Amid Multiple Crises, CalPERS Board Turns on One of Its Own Members (column - Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times)
• Firefighting in Orange County – Part One, Firefighter Pay and Benefits (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Firefighting in Orange County – Part Two, Building an Independent Fire Dept (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Firefighters Union Chief With Ties to Democratic Leaders Is Mired in Internal Financial Dispute (Brody Mullins & Ted Mann / Wall Street Journal)$$

June 24, 2020

• Fraud Allegations Against San Diego-Area School Reveal Deceptive Practices Used to Enrich Public Pay (Robert Fellner / Transparent California)
• Why You Should Worry About the Pension Fund Crisis (Mark Hulbert / The Street)
• Sitting CalPERS Board Member Sues California Pension Fund President, Claiming Retaliation (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramenyo Bee)
• Board Member Sues CalPERS, Board President Over Gang-Style Retaliation for Efforts to Oppose Its Incompetence (Yves Smith / Naked Capitalism)
• These Cities Have the Highest Unfunded Pension Liabilities (Michelle Jones / ValueWalk)

June 23, 2020

• CalPERS Gambles on Risky Investments. The California Legislature Should Examine Them (commentary - Dan Walters / Sacramento Bee)
• CalPERS Takes a Bold and Risky Investment Strategy (letter - Wall Street Journal)

June 22, 2020

• CalPERS Board Member Objects to $80 Billion Leverage Gamble (Peter Smith / Financial Times)
• California Legislature Facing $54.3 Billion Deficit Chooses to Increase Spending (Chriss Street / American Thinker)
• Before Covid-19, Pension Demands Put San Rafael Budget in Vise (op-ed - Bob Bunnell / Marin Independent Journal)

June 19, 2020

• Oregon Supreme Court Considers Whether to Allow PERS Pension Cuts (Jeff Mapes / Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Seattle Protesters' Call to Scrap Police Pensions Can't Be Met by City (Jacob Jarvis / Newsweek)
• How Police-Union Power Helped Increase Abuses (Steven Greenhouse / The New Yorker)

June 18, 2020

• Covid-19 Will Turn the State Pension Problem Into a Fiscal Crisis (Raymond Scheppach / The Conversation)
• CalPERS Has a Fix for Its Huge Pension Shortfall: Borrow More (Randall W. Forsyth / Barron's)
• As Shortfalls Grow, Public-Pension Funds Roll the Dice (Daniel Tenreiro / National Review)
• CalPERS Investment Committee Backs Hiking Opportunistic Strategies Target (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)

June 17, 2020

• Coronavirus Lockdowns to Cause Earlier Insolvency of Failing Public Employee Pensions (Craig Eyermann / Independent Institute)

June 16, 2020

• Heads They Win, Tails Taxpayers Lose: CalPERS Doubles Down on Risky Investments (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

June 15, 2020

• California's Ongoing Fight Over Pension Obligation Bonds (column - Jon Coupal / Orange County Register)
• CalPERS CIO Eyes More Private Equity, Leverage to Boost Returns (Erik Schatzker / Bloomberg)
• By Investing in Private Equity and Credit, CalPERS Expects to Be Able to Achieve 7% Returns (op-ed - Ben Meng / Wall Street Journal)$$

June 12, 2020

• Derek Chauvin: Officer Charged With Killing George Floyd Still Eligible for Pension Worth More Than $1 Million (Blake Ellis & Melanie Hicken / CNN)
• These Cities Have the Highest Unfunded Pension Liabilities (Michelle Jones / ValueWalk)
• Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund Is on Track to Become Insolvent by 2025 (Kevin Stawicki / Law360)
• Police Union Scrutiny Could Soon Move Into Finance (Dan Primack / Axios)

June 11, 2020

• Lompoc Locks Into Pension Debt Payment Plan Following Sales Tax Increase (Zac Ezzone / Santa Maria Sun)
• GOLDEN OLDIE: Taxpayers on the Hook for 26,000 Government Pensions Over $100,000, a 13-Fold Increase From 2005 (Teri Sforza / Chico Enterprise-Record)

June 10, 2020

• Financial Times Says Seven Major US Public Pensions to Run Out of Money by 2028 (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Defund Police Pensions: Would That Really Save a Lot of Money? (blog - Mary Pat Campbell)

June 9, 2020

• To Rein in California’s Cops, Reclaim City Hall (Joe Mathews / Zócalo Public Square)

June 8, 2020

• Muni Bond Investors Face a Day of Reckoning With the Pension Crisis That's Crippling Many US Cities (Robert Pozen & Joshua Rauh / MarketWatch)
• Proposal to Prohibit Police Unions From Funding District Attorney Campaigns Doesn’t Go Far Enough (Joel Fox / CALmatters)
• Riverside County Sells $719 Million in Bonds to Pay Down Part of Its $3.5 Billion in Pension Debt (Jeff Horseman / Press-Enterprise)
• America’s Public-Pension Funding Crisis Worsens (editorial - The Economist)$$

June 5, 2020

• Police Have Been Looting for Years: Law Enforcement Costs Are Swallowing More of California's Local Budgets (Joe Mathews / KCRW)
• Illinois Will Be the Poster Case for State Bankruptcy (Ike Brannon / Forbes)
• Here’s What $1 Million in Cuts in Upland City Services Would Look Like (Steve Scauzillo / San Gabriel Valley Tribune)

June 4, 2020

• California’s Debt Folly: Unnecessary Spending on Retiree Health Care Is Crushing the Golden State (David Crane / City Journal)
• Teacher Pension Plans and the Covid Recession (Andrew G. Biggs & Cory Koedel / EducationNext)
• Low Funded Public Pensions Might Not Survive the Decade (Michael Katz / Chief Investment Officer)

June 3, 2020

• Last US Citizen Receiving a Civil War Pension Dies in North Carolina (Andrew Court / Daily Mail)

June 2, 2020

• Public Retirement Systems and the Pandemic: Part I -- A Coming Wave Of COLA Litigation? (Caleb Durling / JD Supra)
• Yolo County, California Faces Major Cuts in Services; Pension Liability Is $335.4 Million (Woodland Daily Democrat)
• California State Workers Could Get Raises, Avoid Furloughs Under Senate Budget Plan (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

June 1, 2020

• Cities’ Next Coronavirus Dilemma: Cut Essential Services or Take on More Debt (Heather Gillers / Wall Street Journal)$$
• INTERACTIVE TOOL: State Pension Fund Challenges -- Unfunded Liabilities Before and After COVID-19 (Reason Foundation)
• Society of Actuaries Research Brief: Impact of COVID-19 (pdf - 78 pages)
• Market Decline Worsens the Outlook for Public Pension Plans (Jean-Pierre Aubry, Alicia H. Munnell & Kevin Wandrei / Public Plans Data)
• US Public Pension Plans Warned They Will Run Out of Money by 2028 (Abhishek Shrma / TechnoCodex)
• Pandemic Will Mean a Worse Retirement for Millions of Private Sector Workers (Alan Greenblatt / Governing)

May 31, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: The State Pension Crisis Goes Beyond the Big Blue States (op-ed - Steven Malanga / Wall Street Journal)$$
• Pension Reform Newsletter for May 2020 (Reason Foundation)

May 29, 2020

• How to Free California's Budget Hostages (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)

May 28, 2020

• State Bankruptcy and Bailout Reactions: Would Pensions Really Have to Be Cut in Bankruptcy? (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

May 27, 2020

• California’s Deficit Requires That CalPERS and CalSTRS Pensioners Pay Their Share (Ralph E. Shaffer / Fox & Hounds)
• Modesto, California Faces Budget Shortfall Due to Coronavirus (Kevin Valine / Modesto Bee)
• State Bankruptcy and Bailout Reactions: The Ants Aren't Interested in Feeding the Grasshopper (blog - Mary Pat Campbell /STUMP)
• US Public Pensions Less Than 60% Funded? (blog - Leo Kolivakis / Pension Pulse)
• Do Not Bail Out States for Years of Fiscal Mismanagement (Kay C. James / Heritage Foundation)
• Status Check: Cloudy Days for Defined Benefit Pensions? (Graham Womack / Comstock's Magazine)
• State Pension Boards Lack Investment Experience -- What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (Edward Siedle / Forbes)

May 26, 2020

• The Arrival of the 'Unavoidable Pension Crisis' (Lance Roberts / Seeking Alpha)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: A Pre-Existing Condition (Chip Bok / Bokbluster.com)
• Just Say No to State Pension Bailouts (editorial - Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

May 22, 2020

• States Under Fiscal Pressure: California (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• Goleta, California Makes Budget Cuts to Stay in the Black (Jean Yamamura / Santa Barbara Independent)
• Novato, California Plans Buyouts, Furloughs as $5.7 Million Deficit Looms (Will Houston / Marin Independent Journal)

May 21, 2020

• Goldman Sachs Estimates Public Pensions Now Less Than 60% Funded on Average (Steffan Navedo-Perez / Chief Investment Officer)
• US Pension Funds Approach Point of No Return (Jamie Williamson / Financial Standard)

May 20, 2020

• California’s Budget Bust-Up (Steven Malanga / City Journal)
• Why California Is In Trouble -- 340,000 Public Employees With $100,000+ Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $45 Billion (Adam Andrzejewski / Forbes)

May 19, 2020

• California's Legislative Analyst Slams Plan to Limit School Pension Payments (Romy Varghese / Bloomberg)$$
• Worst Public Pension Quarterly Results Reported -- Reality Is Far Worse (Edward Siedle / Forbes)

May 18, 2020

• California Isn’t Colorado (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Moneypalooza Monstrosity! Looking at the Multiemployer Pension Bailout Provisions (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

May 16, 2020

• WEEKEND NEWS:
• Facing Pension Crisis, Montebello to Take on Debt (Mike Sprague / Whittier Daily News)
• Hidden in the HEROES Act: A New Multiemployer Pension Plan Bailout (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

May 15, 2020

• Gavin Newsom’s $203.3 Billion California Budget Cuts Pension Funding, Spends Reserves (Sophia Bollag, Adam Ashton & Hannah Wiley / Sacramento Bee)
• Coronavirus Shutdown Forced Inevitable Cuts in Santa Monica, Fiscal Expert Says (Jorge Casuso / Santa Monica Lookout)

May 14, 2020

• Local Governments Looking for Revenue Are Watching the California Supreme Court (Joel Fox / Fox & Hounds)
• California State Workers Face 10 Percent Pay Cut, Possible Furloughs, Union Leader Says (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

May 13, 2020

• CalSTRS Mandates More Money From State and Employers to Absolve Growing Deficit (Steffan Navedo-Perez / Chief Investment Officer)
• Pension Debt, Fiscal Mismanagement, and Why State/Local Bailout Requests Are So Maddening (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

May 12, 2020

• California's Cities Need Reform, Not Bailouts (op-ed - Jim Righeimer & Bruce Whitaker / Orange County Register)
• Legal and Moral Grounds for Pension and OPEB Changes in California (David Crane / Medium.com)
• Public Pension-Fund Losses Set Record in First Quarter (Heather Gillers / Wall Street Journal)$$

May 11, 2020

• California's Pension Systems Are Headed to BK, But Not Due to C-19 Losses (Wayne Lusvardi / California Globe)
• Orange County Cities Are Facing a Financial Mess (editorial - Orange County Register)
• California Budget Season Could Offer Impossible Choices for Elected Officials (column - Dick Spotswood / Marin Independent Journal)

May 8, 2020

• California Budget Do’s and Don’ts (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Pensions in the Time of a Pandemic (Larry Sand / California Policy Center)
• Can California Cities Weather the Covid Recession? (Ben Christopher / CALmatters)
• Flexibility, Not Bankruptcy (editorial - Pensions & Investments)

May 7, 2020

• California State Supreme Court Weighs Timely Pension Case (editorial - CALmatters)
• California High Court Hears Pension Reform Arguments (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• Takeaways From Tuesday’s Supreme Court Oral Arguments in Alameda Pension Case (Messing Adam & Jasmine)

May 6, 2020

• Are California Public Employee Pensions 'Sacrosanct?’ State Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Jerry Brown’s Law (Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

May 5, 2020

• Alameda Pension Case Oral Argument Is Today at 9:00 AM: Three Things to Watch for (Messing Adam & Jasmine)
• Bankrupt Cities and States Get the National Disaster They’ve Been Hoping for (John Rubino / DollarCollapse.com)

May 4, 2020

• Allowing States to Declare Bankruptcy No Panacea to State Budget Woes (op-ed - Tom Campbell / Orange County Register)
• Pension-Spiking Showdown at California Supreme Court Tomorrow (editorial - San Jose Mercury News)
• An Extended Lockdown May Devastate California Cities (Marc Joffe/ Fox & Hounds)

May 2, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Rates of Pay and Pension Debt in California’s Distressed Cities (Edward Ring / California Policy Center)

May 1, 2020

• This Is No Time to Bail Out Already Failing Union Pension Funds (editorial - Washington Examiner)

April 30, 2020

• Will Pensions Be 'On the Chopping Block’ in Recession? California Supreme Court to Hear Case (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacamento Bee)
• Put California’s Public Employee Pensions on a Ventilator (NO PAYWALL - John Moorlach / Fullerton Taxpayers)
• Anaheim’s $475,000 City Manager Sacking Heightens Accountability, Transparency Concerns (Spencer Custodio / Voice of OC)
• Grand Jury Report: Marin Public Entities Still Lacking on Pay Transparency (Will Houston / Marin Independent Journal)

April 29, 2020

• Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Bail Out States But Not Irresponsible Pension Funds (editorial - USA Today)
• Nice $200,000 Pensions if You Can Get Them. Bailout Time? (William Baldwin / Forbes)

April 28, 2020

• CalPERS Reports -0.4% Return for Year Ended March 31, Also Adopts New Contribution Rates (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• The Impact of Coronavirus on California's Public Pensions -- an Interview With State Sen. John Moorlach (audio - California Local Elected Officials)
• The Fed Should Not Be Bailing Out the Underfunded Pensions of Cities and States (Robert C. Pozen / MarketWatch)
• McConnell Rules Out Pension Aid for States (Hazel Bradford / Pensions & Investments)
• California Could Fare Worse From Economic Collapse Than From COVID-19 Itself (Shelley Henderson / Orange County Breeze)

April 27, 2020

• Pensions Leave California Cities With Bankruptcy as Their Life Raft (column - Steven Greenhut / Orange County Register)
• The Covid-19 Economic Collapse Is Absolutely Wrecking State Pension Systems (Eric Boehm / Reason)
• Social Security Will Be Insolvent Even Sooner Than Expected, Thanks to COVID-19 Pandemic (Eric Boehm / Reason)

April 24, 2020

• Next Big Funding Fight -- Bailing Out Blue State Pension Problems (William A. Jacobson / Legal Insurrection)
• States Should Not Receive Bankruptcy Protection (Kevin D. Williamson / National Review)
• Why California Can’t Cut Its Way Past Covid (Joe Mathews / Fox & Hounds)
• Rick Cole Quits Santa Monica Post, Telling City to Get Real With Viral Budget (Larry Wilson / Pasadena Star News)
• Cole Resigns as Santa Monica City Manager (Jorge Casuso / Santa Monica Lookout)

April 23, 2020

• US Public Pension Funding Levels Plunge to 66% in Q1 (Michael Katz / Chief Investment Officer)
• McConnell: Let States Go Bankrupt; California Pension Crisis and Tax Hikes Will Destroy the Golden State (Konstantinos Roditis / NOQ Report)
• Governors Halt Raises, Freeze State Workers’ Pay Outside California as Recession Takes Hold (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• How the Market Downturn Could Affect Public Pension Funds (Greg Mennis / Pew Trusts)

April 22, 2020

• Market Downturn Portends Big Losses for Government Pension Funds -- and Billions in New Obligations for Taxpayers (Steven Malanga / City Journal)
• Coronavirus Will Make America’s Cities Feel the Pressure of Pension Debt (Jen Sidorova / MarketWatch)
• Report: Teacher Pension Debt Is 'Crowding Out' Funding for Education (Linda Jacobson / Education Dive)
• School Superintendents Want Newsom to Freeze School District Pensions (Pasadena Now)

April 21, 2020

• Put California's Public Pensions on a Ventilator (John Moorlach / The Bond Buyer)$$
• Questionable California Priorities Are About to Hit Pocket Books (opinion - Ronald Stein / Heartland Institute)
• The Upcoming Public Pension Bailout and the Power of Incentives (Adam Strauss / Appleseed Capital)
• Illinois Is Insolvent: State Requests a Pension Bailout From Congress (blog - Mike Shedlock / Mish Talk)
• $10 Billion Illinois Pension Bailout Request Called 'Infuriating' (Sarah Min / Chief Investment Officer)
• Despite Massive Private Sector Layoffs, Illinois Still Scheduled to Give $261 Million Pay Raises to Government Employees (Illinois Review)
• Illinois Senate Democrats Seek Massive Federal Bailout for State, Going Far Beyond Coronavirus Impact (Mark Glennon & Ted Dabrowski / Wirepoints)
• Illinois Pension Bailout Request Reaction Roundup - and Why It’s a Nonstarter (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

April 20, 2020

• Court to Hear Oral Arguments Remotely in 'California-Rule' Pension Case (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• The Next Covid-19 Victim? Public Pension Funds. (Michael R. Glass & Sean H. Vanatta / Washington Post)
• Why California Can't Cut Its Way Past COVID (op-ed - Joe Mathews / Bakersfield Californian)
• Feasting on the California Taxpayer (Jim Davis / American Thinker)
• Illinois’ Shameless, Dishonest Ask for a Federal Bailout (editorial - Chicago Tribune)
• 3 Reasons Why States Shouldn’t Get a Congressional Bailout (Rachel Greszler / Daily Signal)
• Public Pension Funds Shouldn't Wait for a Return to 'Normal' (op-ed - Anthony Randazzo / The Hill)
• Pensions, Furloughs and Telework: What Does a Recession Hold for California State Workers? (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

April 18, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: School Districts Couldn’t Stop Raising Employee Pay -- Now Kids Will Pay the Price (opinion - Todd Maddison / Voice of San Diego)

April 17, 2020

• The Editor Is Playin' Hooky Today

April 16, 2020

• Public Pension Funds Face Reckoning From Equity Rout, Tax Revenue Losses (Fola Akinnibi / Bloomberg)

April 15, 2020

• Huntington Beach Denies Pandemic Reality, Dispenses Pay Raises (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• El Cerrito, California is on the Edge of Bankruptcy -- and Faces Big Cuts (Jon Kawamoto / East Bay Times)
• Simi Valley, California Reverses Course, Will Not Issue Risky Bonds to Refinance Large Debt to CalPERS (Mike Harris / Ventura County Star)
• Riverside County, California to Issue $720.9 Million in Pension Obligation Bonds (Danielle Moran & William Selway / Bloomberg News)
• Santa Barbara's City Managers Should Take a 30% Pay Cut (op-ed - Eleanor Fowler / edhat.com)
• The Truth About LACERS -- The City’s Annual Contribution (Tom Moutes / CityWatch LA)

April 14, 2020

• California Split Roll Ballot Measure Is Just a Pension Bailout (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Don't Use Coronavirus as Excuse to Bail Out State and Local Governments That Have Mismanaged Finances for Decades (Joshua D. Rauh / Fox Business)
• GOLDEN OLDIE: The Looming Public Pension Crisis (video - Joshua Rauh / Stanford Graduate School of Business)
• Why Trump Is Indifferent to the Crisis at the US Postal Service (Steve Benen / MSNBC)
• The Debate Over a Post Office Bailout, Explained (Matthew Yglesias / Vox)
• Why National Pension Systems Are a Ticking Time Bomb (Anchalee Worrachate / Washington Post)

April 13, 2020

• Public Pensions Have Lost $1 Trillion in Value. That's Bad News for Teacher Pay (Daarel Burnette II / Education Week)
• Nation’s Largest Pension Fund CalPERS Stopped Paying for Crash Insurance -- in January (Leanna Orr / Institutional Investor)

April 11, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Public Pensions Face Liquidity Crunch Amid Volatility (Michelle Jones / ValueWalk)

April 10, 2020

• Marin Pension Fund Took 14.2% Virus Hit in 1st Quarter (Richard Halstead / Marin Independent Journal)
• CalPERS Gave Up a $1-Billion Payday by Scrapping a Hedge Against a Stocks Crash (Erik Schatzker / Los Angeles Times)

April 9, 2020

• Does Multi-Employer Pension Reform Belong in a 'Phase Four’ Coronavirus Bill? (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• No Bailout for Broke Pensions (Charles Blahous / Wall Street Journal)$$

April 8, 2020

• Economic Impacts of Coronavirus Shrink City of Santa Monica Revenues (Madeleine Pauker / Santa Monica Daily Press)
• Coronavirus Side Effect: Even More Pension Performance Puffery (Edward Siedle / Forbes)
• Public Pensions Taking Big Hit From COVID-19; CalPERS Accounts for Some $69 Billion in Losses (Marlene Satter / BenefitsPro)

April 7, 2020

• COVID-19 Market Volatility Adds New Intensity to the US Virgin Islands' Pension Crisis (Marc Joffe & Jodi Lieberman / Reason)
• PBGC Program Set for Reversal of Fortune (Hazel Bradford / Pensions & Investments)

April 6, 2020

• Recent Stock Market Losses May Spike Local Pension Costs, But Not Immediately (David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Virus Cost San Mateo $10 Million in 2 Months (Zachary Clark / Daily Journal)
• California's Pension Bomb Fuse Just Got Shorter (column - Jon Coupal / Orange County Register)
• Underfunded Public Pension Plans Facing a New Round of Woes (James Comtois / Pensions & Investments)

April 4, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Does the Post Office Need a Pension Bailout, and What Does That Have to Do With the Coronavirus? (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

April 3, 2020

• Pensions in a Pandemic: Is One Man's Bailout Another Man’s Pension Funding Relief? (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• Santa Barbara County Employee Retirement System Takes Big Pension Hit (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk)
• Debate Over Pension Bailouts Rages Amid COVID-19 Pandemic (Michelle Jones / ValueWalk)
• Rhode Island 'Weeks, Not Months’ From Running Out of Cash (Katherine Gregg / Providence Journal)
• The Coronavirus Has Been Devastating for Providence’s Pension Fund (Dan McGowan / Boston Globe)

April 2, 2020

• Coronavirus Is Making the Public Pension Crisis Even Worse (Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• Coronavirus Is the Tipping Point That Just Upended Pensions (Byrne Hobart / Marker)
• City Manager Details How Much Pasadena’s Economy Is Hurting (Kevin Kenney / Pasadena Now)
• California Pension Math (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Democrats to Seek Aid for Troubled Union Pensions in Next Relief Package (Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner)

April 1, 2020

• Post-Coronapocalypse Pension Reform Checklist for California (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• CalSTRS Expects Market 'Potholes,' Sticking With Funding Plan, Says CIO Ailman (video - Bloomberg)
• We Wasted an Economic Boom, and Now We Are Starting to Pay the Price (op-ed - Adrian Moore / Orange County Register)
• Millennials Given Responsibility to Pay for Retirement Programs' Investment Deficiencies (op-ed - Ronald Stein / Eurasia Review)

March 31, 2020

• What Happens as State and Local Tax Revenues Crater? (Charles Hugh Smith / Wall Street Window)
• Stock Market Swing Should Raise Alarms About California’s Pensions Woes (editorial / Orange County Register)
• US Public Pensions Lose $1 Trillion From Market Crash (Michael Katz / Chief Investment Officer)

March 30, 2020

• Coronavirus Outbreak Reveals California's Big Financial Shortcomings (column - Dan Walters / Pasadena Star-News)
• Don't Let States Rob COVID-19 Funds to Bail Out Pension Funds (Ted Dabrowski & Mark Glennon / RealClear Politics)
• Military Pensions Too Generous? Will They Be Cut? (Edward Siedle / Forbes)

March 28, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: CalPERS Unprepared for the Coronavirus Recession (column - Daniel Borenstein / San Jose Mercury News)

March 27, 2020

• The Next Looming Economic Contagion: Pensions Collapse (John Klar / American Thinker)
• A Public Health Crisis Is No Time for Private Pension Bailouts (Rachel Greszler / Heritage Foundation)
• The Truth About LACERS -- The LACERS’ Board, What Happened? (Tom Moutes / CityWatch LA)
• 2020 Pension Investment Losses Tracking at 20 Percent (Michelle Jones / ValueWalk)

March 26, 2020

• Coronavirus Threatens to Wipe Out California’s $21-Billion Surplus. and It Could Get Worse (John Myers / Los Angeles Times)
• Lompoc Just Might Not Get What It Voted for (commentary - Ron Fink / Santa Maria Sun)
• Pension Reform Newsletter for March 2020 (Reason Foundation)
• The Time Is Ripe for Public Pension Obligation Bonds (Girard Miller / Pensions & Investments)
• The Coronavirus Shock Has Tanked Millions of Private Sector Retirement Accounts (Ben Steverman / Bloomberg Law)

March 25, 2020

• Coronavirus, Declining Stocks and Alternative Investments: Bad News for CalPERS and CalSTRS (op-ed - Marc Joffe / Orange County Register)
• Market Rout Leaves Public Pension Funds Nursing a Nearly $1 Trillion Loss for Fiscal 2020: Moody’s (Sunny Oh / MarketWatch)
• Monterey Area Cities Concerned About Jump in Pension Obligations (Dennis L. Taylor / Monterey Herald)
• GOLDEN OLDIE: Pension Puffery: 12 Half-Truths That Deserve to Be Debunked [see #4] (Girard Miller / Governing)
• ISSUE BRIEF: The 80% Pension Funding Standard Myth (pdf - American Academy of Actuaries)

March 24, 2020

• Multi-employer Pension Bailout Too (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Time for California’s Unions to Get Serious About Pension Reform (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Public Pensions Before the Storm: Looking at Systems Not Set Up for Sustainability (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

March 23, 2020

• San Diego Governments Brace for Impacts of Economic Tumult on Pension Costs (Ashly McGlone / Voice of San Diego)

March 22, 2020

• California Must Act Quickly to Address the Financial Crisis (op-ed - John Moorlach / Orange County Register)
• BREAKING: CalPERS Loses $69 Billion in Biggest Market Losses Since Great Recession (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

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