"Pension debt" refers to the accumulated financial obligations or liabilities that a company, organization, or government has towards its employees' pension plans. It represents the amount of money that they owe to current and future retirees in the form of retirement benefits.
Full definition
And that's just
state pension debt; that doesn't include local government pensions or health care debt.
The state has $ 14 billion
in pension debt that eats up a lot of the pension contributions made on behalf of teachers.
For every $ 100 paid in salary, states and school districts are paying $ 12
toward pension debts and only $ 5 in benefits for current teachers.
As the charter sector has grown over time, and
as pension debts eat up a larger and larger share of school spending, the charter school pension question has been bubbling up.
Fixed dollar raises would lower
pension debt by lowering the final average salary for later - career teachers.
Massive pension debt crowds out other education funding, and in some cities, has forced reductions in crucial, basic public services, or caused large tax increases.
If state and local governments are required to pour money
into pension debts, that's money they won't have available to support other government services, including higher education.
Pension debts affect all teachers, but they're paying for retirement systems that only benefit a fraction of them.
The vast majority are losing out in terms of retirement benefits, and all of them are losing out because their employers have to keep paying
down pension debts.
Most of these costs are due to
rising pension debts, not to pay for actual teacher retirement benefits (see Figure 3 here).
The volume of real estate debt, auto debt, student loans, bank debt,
pension debts by municipalities and states as well as private companies exceed their ability to pay.
One huge problem it pointed out is the lack of susatianabilty with many plans, as in 2014 the accrued
teacher pension debt in the United States was $ 499 billion.
Last month we released «The Pension Pac - Man:
How Pension Debt Eats Away at Teacher Salaries,» which used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to show that, like the proverbial Pac - Man, the rapidly rising costs of teacher retirement and insurance benefits are gobbling up funds that could be spent on salaries.
Fund Management Charges: The fund management charge is 1.35 % p.a for Pension Growth Fund & Pension Balanced Fund, 1 % p.a for
Pension Debt Fund, 0.50 % p.a for Pension Discontinued Policy Fund.
In a recent paper covered previously in this blog space, we document that on average across state plans, over 10 percent of salaries for new teachers are being collected and used to pay down previously
accrued pension debts.
Teachers» Pensions and the Overgrazed Commons On March 26, 2015 Governing published this commentary by Marguerite Roza and Michael Podgursky on how big raises to teachers nearing retirement is a recipe for
letting pension debt get out of control.
On March 26, 2015 Governing published this commentary by Marguerite Roza and Michael Podgursky on how big raises to teachers nearing retirement is a recipe for letting
pension debt get out of control.
In our new report, «The Pension Pac - Man: How
Pension Debt Eats Away at Teacher Salaries,» we show that, like the proverbial Pac - Man, the rapidly rising costs of teacher retirement and insurance benefits are pushing out money that could be spent on salaries (Figure 1 from the paper).
On average, for every $ 10 states and districts contribute toward teacher retirement, $ 7 goes toward paying down
past pension debt, and only $ 3 goes toward benefits for current teachers.
Gov. Brown put the spotlight on the need to more quickly
pay pension debt with a $ 6 billion extra payment to CalPERS last year for state workers.
As
pension debt tops $ 20 billion and murder rates sky rocket 50 percent this year, McDonald's entrance is initially surprising.
Most of the proceeds from the sale of Alton's sewer system and water treatment plant would go toward combined police and
fire pension debt of more than $ 113 million.
Cook County's crisis is no different from what Chicago, the state and numerous localities in Illinois are experiencing — out - of -
control pension debt.
In February 2014, Sweeney responded to Governor Chris Christie's 2014 budget address and opposed any more new reforms to the state's retirement system, despite a $ 52 billion
public pension debt.
There is no denying that something must be done to address the more than $ 70 billion in teacher
pension debt Illinois is carrying.
Since it can be somewhat abstract for teachers to think
about pension debt and how it affects them, the report also shows what teacher salaries might look like if districts were able to spend the money on salaries rather than debt (see the full report for state data).
Without pension debts, states could raise salaries enough that teachers wouldn't need to spend their free hours waitressing or driving for Uber.
The investment earnings forecast used to
discount pension debt was lowered from 7.5 to 7 percent, triggering a local government employer rate increase of about 50 percent for cities over the next seven years.
Because state pension administrators have made insufficient contributions and unrealistic investment assumptions,
pension debt now consumes over a third of school payrolls.
While Gov. Jerry Brown has instituted a new funding formula for school districts statewide, sending putting more dollars in local hands, he is also asking teachers to increase their pension contributions as a way to help pay down $ 74 billion in
teacher pension debt.
State politicians created
large pension debts, and it's unfair to ask school districts, especially charter schools, to bear the budgetary burden of those costs.
However, there are greater drivers of burgeoning
state pension debts, such as the state legislature's long history of underinvesting in the pension fund as well as increasing benefits during bull markets without ensuring long - term solvency.
You have the option to switch your money from Pension Balanced Fund to
Pension Debt Fund.
It's a double whammy for classroom teachers because teachers will be required to increase their pension contributions, eroding whatever raise the union negotiates with the district, and the additional dollars districts spend
on pension debt are dollars that can't be spent elsewhere.
And now, for every $ 10 states and districts contribute to teacher pension plans, $ 7 goes toward paying down
past pension debt, and only $ 3 goes toward benefits for current teachers.
A year ago, we released The Pension Pac - Man:
How Pension Debt Eats Away at Teacher Salaries, which showed that, over the last 20 + years, teacher salaries have not kept up with inflation, but total teacher compensation has.
Decreasing the rapid accrual
of pension debt is critically important, but it won't be sufficient to ensure that the state can meet its current obligations.