Pensions and Investments
PAUL S. ATKINS
When public pensioners nationwide recently were surveyed about their government-run pensions, six out of 10 believed their retirement “lockbox” was fully funded. Yet recent research shows that view diverges from reality.
According to Pew Trust research, only 70% of state pension liabilities are funded, and this statistic assumes generous fund returns in the years ahead. More realistic calculations show our nation’s public employees face a devastating situation. Unfortunately, some public leaders in U.S. cities and states are playing politics with retirees’ savings rather than responsibly addressing fiscal imbalances.
In various cities and states across the U.S., elected officials have spearheaded efforts for government pension funds to divest from companies involved in fossil-fuel production (oil, coal, gas, etc.). New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer recently announced the city’s pension funds will sell up to $5 billion of public pension investments in the oil-and-gas industry — not because of poor returns, but because of environmental concerns. Likewise in 2017, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray asked the Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System board to divest holdings in “companies whose primary business is the mining or burning of coal.” Similar divestment efforts have been pushed by officials in California and Washington, D.C.
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