On the last day of the 25th Alaska Legislature Senator Kim Elton and cosponsor Senator Lesil McGuire introduced SB183, an act which would repeal the “401K savings plan” imposed on new teachers and public employees hired after June 30 2006. SB183 would restore a safe, secure Defined Benefit plan which would allow our seniors to retire with dignity.

The legislation which imposed the “401K” savings plan was sponsored by the previous Administration and promised to “stop the bleeding” of the pension plans and bring relief to employers. It did neither, and narrowly passed, requiring 3 special sessions before it passed by ONE vote. The previous Administration did not give legislators all the facts. Read the rest of this entry »

The following is a copy of a memorandum sent by Senator Kim Elton to the Finance Committee summarizing recent findings by Buck Consultants, retirement system analysts who work for the State. In this document, “DB” is short for “defined benefit,” the classic retirement plan which includes a pension, and is like the type of plan Alaska public employees had before SB 141 became law (the pensions are affected of new employees hired after the bill became law, and does not directly affect public employees hired before July 1, 2006).

“DC” means “direct contribution,” which is what public employees receive now in Alaska for a retirement plan. It is not a pension, but rather something like a 401k savings account–vastly inferior from the point of view of retirement security. Now we also know it is not less expensive for the state than the former traditional pension retirement plan. Read the rest of this entry »

Gayle Harbo Retired after teaching mathematics in Fairbanks for 25 years. She was very good at what she did. In 1989 she was named Alaska Teacher of the Year. She is still very good at what she does, but now she is Secretary of the Alaska Retirement Management Board (ARMB). As such, she is one of nine trustees that have fiduciary responsibility for the billions of dollars of assets of the state’s retirement systems (there are seven different retirement systems!).

Ms. Harbo is also a member of the Alaska Retired Educators Association (AKREA), which is a local affiliate of the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA). In a recent AKREA newsletter, Ms. Harbo wrote an excellent summary of the history and consequences of SB 141, which destroyed the pension system for Alaskan public employees. I am pleased to reprint her excellent article here. Note that additional information on SB 141 and related issues can be found on the ACPP blog under the blog category “Retirement Security.” Read the rest of this entry »

I have written extensively about the recent destruction of the pension systems for public employees in Alaska (traditional “defined benefit” plans), and their replacement with “defined contribution” plans similar to 401k plans, which are little more than savings accounts. Some time ago a legislator mentioned to me that he thought this was the worst piece of legislation passed in many years in Alaska–and I would have to agree.

However, this is what is important: the struggle by ideologues and by those who believe they can profit from the destruction of traditional pension plans for public workers is increasingly being met by a powerful upsurge of resistance by public employees and their families who understand the critical necessity of maintaining or returning to a defined benefit plan, in other words, a traditional pension. Two recent victories come to mind. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is an important summary of recent events relating to the resurrection of truly terrible public policy, the privatization of Social Security. This summary is courtesy of the August 4 issue of Friday Alert, the weekly electronic newsletter of The Alliance of Retired Americans. Read the rest of this entry »

This message that follows was recently released by the Alaska Public Employees Association. The Association has played a leading role in the struggle to preserve retirement security in Alaska, and to preserve the ability of the public sector in this state to remain competetive to recruit teachers, police, firefighters, and other key positions. Thanks also to the Retired Public Employees Association for their persistent efforts on behalf of retirees in Alaska, and for helping to distribute information on this extremely important topic. Read the rest of this entry »

During the last year I have written a number of blog entries regarding Senate Bill 141 and the destruction of the Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System in the state of Alaska. I would like to give you an update now about the status of Senate Bill 141. This update comes from the most recent issue of RPEA news and was written by Sam Trivette, President of RPEA. I would like to add here that RPEA and Sam Trivette have been in the forefront of the fight against SB 141 in the attempt to protect the retirement for thousands of future public employees and teachers in the state of Alaska, and their families. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite everything you may have heard in the last year about the “unfunded liability crisis of the public employees retirement system,” and despite everything you may have heard about how the debt has grown to billions of dollars and is increasing year after year, the facts indicate that there may be no financial crisis at all. An examination of the same facts that have been available to everyone appears to indicate that the “unfunded liability crisis” may be nothing more than an empty, mean-spirited, politically motivated manipulation of the media message. Worse yet, Senate Bill 141 which destroys the public employee retirement system and replaces it with a vastly inferior retirement savings account and a vastly inferior health insurance plan, is totally unnecessary. Let’s just take a look at the existing facts, the facts that have been generated by the actuarial experts hired by the state. Read the rest of this entry »

I am pleased to present in full this excellent article written by Senator Kim Elton. It was originally published in the April 28 addition of Senator Elton’s newsletter, Off the Record. In this article Senator Elton brings us up to date on some of the critical issues that have come to light since the passage last year of Senate Bill 141 which destroys Alaska’s public employees pension system, and seriously undermines future efforts to recruit qualified teachers, police, and other critical public employees in public service to the people of Alaska. The needless and mean-spirited destruction of this important pension system will come into effect July 1 of this year unless current versions of House Bill 475 or Senate Bill 293 are passed. Read the rest of this entry »

Retirement Security or Welfare?
The Destruction of the Public Employees and Teachers Retirement Systems

Anchorage, AK March 28, 2006 — The Alaska Center for Public Policy (ACPP), in association with AARP, the Retired Public Employees of Alaska (RPEA), and the National Education Association – Alaska (NEA- Alaska)will host an interactive public forum on the consequences of the recent destruction of the public employees and teachers retirement systems (PERS/TRS). The event will be held on Tuesday, March 28, 2006, 7:00-8:30pm at the Wilda Marston Theatre in the Loussac Library.

Experts and affected public employees will speak about the effects and consequences of the recent changes in the retirement systems. Following the presentations, there will be an open question and answer period. Refreshments will follow.

The Problem

As of July 1, 2006, newly hired State employees will not have a State Pension or Social Security, making Alaskan public employees the most vulnerable in the United States. Public employees will have a defined contribution plan (like a glorified savings account) – there will be no guaranteed benefits at retirement. How was this policy passed through the Legislature? What will this mean for retirees and their families? Will you be able to retire? To be a part of the discussion, come to the Wilda Marston Theatre at the Loussac Library on March 28th at 7:00PM.

I am a big fan of the Alliance for Retired Americans. The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is “to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security.” The organization has an excellent newsletter and an extremely informative website. I want to stress that this organization does not focus only on those who have retired, but also addresses the larger picture, which includes all those who will retire in the future–which includes just about everyone.

I appreciate in particular the attention ARA pays to progressive legislation at the State level, which provides direction and precedence for possible future legislation in Alaska. I have included below a reprint of most of ARA’s thought-provoking newsletter of January 13, 2006. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter on the home page of the ARA newsletter, and the website has more information about each of the subjects briefly covered in the newsletter. Read the rest of this entry »

You know the Legislature did “something” to PERS and TRS, but do you know what?

Senate Bill 141 changed the retirement options for any public employee hired after July 1, 2006. This includes all teachers, municipal employees (including firefighters and police officers) and state employees. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s like closing the barn door after all the horses have escaped, but it is a start. Last week Rep. Mike Kelly called for a legislative audit of the state’s pension retirement systems to determine how the programs ended up with a $5.7 billion shortfall. It appears as though a number of Rep. kelly’s constituents think criminal hanky-panky may be at the root of the problem. Rep. Kelly, a Fairbanks Republican, made the request last week in a letter to Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which is conducting public hearings around the state on how to address the systems’ unfunded liability. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, August 14, is Social Security’s birthday. Happy Birthday Social Security! You have a lot to be proud of. Here are the top ten reasons why…

Fact #1: About half of the elderly have incomes that, without Social Security, leave them below the poverty line. Social Security lifts 13 million elderly Americans above the poverty line.

Fact #2: Social Security does more to reduce poverty among children than any other government program. In 2002, one million children under age 18 were lifted above the poverty line by Social Security benefits. Read the rest of this entry »

SPECIAL HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARING, WAYS & MEANS

Thursday, July 14, 2005
Noon to 4PM
Anchorage LIO (716 W. 4th)

Review of Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and Teacher Retirement System (TRS). This hearing will be on teleconference: contact your LIO to be sure that your site will be on.

Chair: Representative_Bruce_Weyhrauch@legis.state.ak.us
1-800-968-6744
Representative_Norman_Rokeberg@legis.state.ak.us 269-0117
Representative_Ralph_Samuels@legis.state.ak.us 269-0240
Representative_Paul_Seaton@legis.state.ak.us 235-2921
Representative_Peggy_Wilson@legis.state.ak.us 1-800-686-3824
Representative_Max_Gruenberg@legis.state.ak.us 269-0123
Representative_Carl_Moses@legis.state.ak.us 1-800-898-4451

One of the issues that Campaign for America’s Future focuses on is Social Security. They have a very extensive and useful website with loads of helpful resources. See Protecting Social Security, and while you are at their site, take a look at the other resources they have on issues such as education and Medicare. Recently researchers at Campaign for America’s Future released a study regarding the consequences for Alaska and Alaskans if President Bush and his supporters successfully privatize Social Security. Some of their finding include: Read the rest of this entry »

Judging by actual research rather than ideologically driven wishful thinking, Alaskans would be better off with Social Security. According to my colleagues at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities… Read the rest of this entry »

The fate of Social Security hangs in the balance. Moreover, the fate of Social Security will affect nearly all Alaskans. Consequently, it is critical to separate fact from fiction, and ideology from information in these critical discussions. I have found that the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) has been a valuable source of credible information on Social Security, Medicaid, and a host of other issues. Here is a recent release by CHN that I think you will find useful… Read the rest of this entry »

On May 11, the first day of the special session of the Alaska state legislature, Governor Murkowski held a press conference. He was questioned extensively by reporters regarding his support of SB 141, which would destroy the Public Employees Retirement System, and the Teachers Retirement System, and replace them with a plan similar to a 401k. Many questions had been raised about the wisdom of this radical change in public policy, about the data upon which the decision was based, and about unintended consequences of the new public policy. A reporter asked the Governor if he thought maybe the issue needed more study before making such a change. In response, the Governor stated in part, “Research is just a cop-out for not making a decision.” Read the rest of this entry »

SB 141 was rammed through in the just-ended special legislative session called by Governor Murkowski. SB 141 is the legislation that destroys retirement security for most public workers in Alaska, and replaces it with a glorified savings account similar to 401k plans across the nation. It is scheduled to take effect July 2006. One year from now, public workers in Alaska will have the worst “retirement plan” of all public workers in the United States. National research (cited in previous ACPP blog entries) indicates that the grand experiment of 401K “retirement plans” are largely a hoax. Most workers cannot rely on them for retirement security precisely because these accounts are subject to the whims of the stock market, high fees for financial services, and early withdrawals for a variety of reasons. But for Alaskan workers, it is much worse than that. Read the rest of this entry »

A few words about public policy issues that are or were being considered in the legislature…

Gambling

The vision of a few old duffers sitting around a table playing a harmless game of poker while fattening the state’s coffers is pleasant indeed, but the realities behind this image are far less bucolic. Take a close look at the website of the National Council on Problem Gambling, an organization established to “increase public awareness of pathological gambling, ensure the widespread availability of treatment for problem gamblers and their families, and to encourage research and programs for prevention and education.” NCPG defines problem gambling as: Read the rest of this entry »

I do not always agree with the AARP on policy matters. However, I think this letter, which addresses the ominous changes some legislators want to make on the alaska public employees retirement systems, is very informative and very accurate. By the way, you can write or call Pat Luby (contact info below) to get on the AARP mailing list so you regularly receive policy analysis, critique, etc. Here is the AARP letter, with the author’s introduction to newsletter readers… Read the rest of this entry »

SB 141 is a bill that will dramatically weaken retirement benefits for nearly all state and municipal public employees in Alaska. At the heart of it, the bill will destroy the current defined benefits system, and replace it with a defined contribution system. Under the current defined benefits system, public sector retirees are promised certain benefits–a monthly paycheck and health care benefits depending on salary, length of service, and perhaps other factors. These benefits are not influenced by what the stock market does, nor by the savings behavior of any individual retiree. That is why a defined benefits system provides retirement security. Read the rest of this entry »

The mission of the National Women’s Law Center is “to protect and advance the progress of women and girls at work, in school, and in virtually every aspect of their lives.” This is a fascinating site, with a lot of emphasis on policy issues. Some of the more interesting issue areas of the website include Tax and Budget, and Women in the Military.

Of critical current interest, however, is the Social Security section of the NWLC website. A couple of months ago the Center released a study entitled Social Security: Women, Children, and the States. This study includes a fact sheet specific to each state. I have reproduced some of the facts from the Alaska fact sheet below: Read the rest of this entry »