Results 1 to 1 of 1
-
02-21-2013, 06:51 PM #1
Experts deride well publicized study on pensions
In Pension Debate, Experts Deride Well-Publicized Non-Profit Study On The Health Of Municipal Plans
On Feb 21, 2013 09:53 am
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Actuarial and financial investment experts told lawmakers Wednesday that an oft-quoted study by two non-profits is exaggerating the problems facing pensions for city and county workers throughout Florida.
The LeRoy Collins Institute and Florida TaxWatch released a report this week that updates its research on 492 pension plans throughout Florida. It concluded that it had detected a “troubling trend” since 2010 where payouts are exceeding contributions in the typical plan. The report is part of a raft of studies that Republican lawmakers are using to warrant an overhaul of state and local government pensions by shuffling employees into 401 (k)-type plans and away from plans that guarantee retirement benefits.
The LCI study isn’t calling for the shutting down of municipal pension funds, but it is recommending some fixes for local governments to adopt to avoid future shortfalls. They are the raising of the minimum age of retirees before they receive benefits; the elimination of overtime pay in calculating pension benefits; the making of pension benefits that are more transparent to the public and changing the interpretation of a 1999 law that would allow cities and counties to more flexibility in negotiating benefits with their police and fire unions.
But Brad Heinrichs, the CEO of a Fort Myers actuarial firm that manages 200 public pensions in Florida, told a House committee on government operations that the premise of the LCI study was flawed. In estimating each plan’s liabilities, LCI was projecting salary increases that hadn’t been awarded yet, giving the impression that the plans had much greater burdens then they do.
“It certainly makes the plans look worse off than I think they are,” said Heinrichs, who said he came to Wednesday’s meeting on his own. “You might call that conservative, but I call it aggressive.”
“What you’re saying is that these numbers are way off,” Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton asked.
“I’ve been trying not to say ‘way off’,” Heinrichs said. “But I would say it’s too strict of a grading scale.”
Heinrichs and Joseph Bogdahn, an investment manager at an Orlando firm, said that a slumping stock market was largely to blame for flat returns from pension funds in recent years. But they both said that was about to change and now was not the time to overreact.
“Sometimes, doing nothing is like taking action,” Bogdahn said. “Most of the funds are doing just fine.”
But Republicans who are pressing for changes were still leaning toward doing something.
The Senate’s efforts to reform municipal pensions is expected to be wrapped into a House bill that would require new school district, county, state, university, and community college employees who now can now enroll in the Florida Retirement System’s pension plan to instead sign up for a 401 (k) plan by next January. That reform is a top priority with House SpeakerWill Weatherford.
Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, chairs the House committee on government operations and said he felt that the criticism of the LCI report was unfair. He said that Heinrichs, who told the committee that actuaries don’t set uniform standards for the solvency of pension plans, had no place to question the findings in the LCI report.
“It’s disingenuous,” Brodeur said. “(The LCI report) will be another piece we’ll use to figure out where we are with funding levels for our municipal pensions.”
Quick Navigation
PBA News
Top
- Site Areas
- Settings
- Private Messages
- Subscriptions
- Who's Online
- Search Forums
- Forums Home
- Forums
- ANNOUNCEMENTS
- MAIN
- UNIONS
- NEWS
- ENTERTAINMENT
- U.S. STATES
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Alameda County Sheriff's Office
- Berkeley Police Department
- Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office
- Fremont Police Department
- Hayward Police Department
- Lake County Sheriff's Department
- Long Beach Police Department
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
- Los Angeles Police Department (L.A.P.D.)
- Marin County Sheriff's Office
- Napa County Sheriff's Department
- Oakland Police Department
- Orange County Sheriff's Office
- Palo Alto Police Department
- Pleasant Hill Police Department
- Richmond Police Department
- San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department
- San Bruno Police Department
- San Francisco County Sheriff's Department
- San Francisco Police Department
- San Jose Police Department
- San Mateo County Sheriff's Office
- Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
- Santa Clara Police Department
- Solano County Sheriff's Office
- Sonoma County Sheriff's Department
- Stafford County Sheriff's Office
- Sunnyvale Police Department
- Vacaville Police Department
- Vallejo Police Department
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Alachua County Sheriff's Office
- Apopka Police Department
- Aventura Police Department
- Bal Harbour Police Department
- Bartow Police Department
- Bay Harbor Islands Police Department
- Biscayne Park Police Department
- Boynton Beach Police Department
- Bradenton Police Department
- Brevard County Sheriff's Office
- Broward County Sheriff's Office
- Blountstown Police Department
- Cape Coral Police Department
- Central Florida Motor Officers Association
- Charlotte County Sheriff's Office
- Citrus County Sheriff's Office
- Clay County Sheriff's Office
- Clearwater Police Department
- Clermont Police Department
- Clewiston Police Department
- Collier County Sheriff's Office
- Coconut Creek Police Department
- Coral Gables Police Department
- Dade City Police Department
- Davie Police Department
- Delray Beach Police Department
- Doral Police Department
- El Portal Police Department
- Escambia County Sheriff's Office
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Florida Atlantic University Police Department
- Florida Department of Corrections
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement
- Florida Department of Transportation
- Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco
- Florida Division of Insurance Fraud
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
- Florida Highway Patrol
- Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary
- Florida International University Police Department
- Florida Narcotic Officers’ Association
- Florida Office of the Attorney General
- Florida State Fire Marshals Office
- Fort Pierce Police Department
- Fort Myers Police Department
- Fort Lauderdale Police Department
- Gainesville Police Department
- Glades County Sheriff's Office
- Golden Beach Police Department
- Gulfport Police Department
- Hardee County Sheriff's Office
- Hallandale Beach Police Department
- Hendry County Sheriff's Office
- Hernando County Sheriff's Office
- Hialeah Gardens Police Department
- Hialeah Police Department
- Highlands County Sheriff's Office
- Hillsborough County Schools Security Services
- Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
- Hollywood Police Department
- Homestead Police Department
- Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
- Juno Beach Police Department
- Jupiter Police Department
- Key West Police Department
- Lady Lake Police Department
- Kissimmee Police Department
- Lake City Police Department
- Lakeland Police Department
- Lake Worth Police Department
- Lantana Police Department
- Largo Police Department
- Lauderhill Police Department
- Lee County Sheriff's Office
- Madison County Sheriff's Office
- Maitland Police Department
- Manatee County Sheriff's Office
- Margate Police Department
- Marion County Sheriff's Office
- Martin County Sheriff's Office
- Medley Police Department
- Melbourne Police Department
- Miami Beach Police Department
- Miami Gardens Police Department
- Miami Police Department
- Miami Springs Police Department
- Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department
- Miami-Dade Police Department
- Miami-Dade Schools Police Department
- Miccosukee Police Department
- Miramar Police Department
- Monroe County Sheriff's Office
- Naples Police Department
- New College of Florida Police Department
- New Port Richey Police Department
- North Bay Village Police Department
- North Miami Beach Police Department
- North Port Police Department
- Ocala Police Department
- Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office
- Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office
- Okeechobee Police Department
- Opa-Locka Police Department
- Orange County Department of Corrections
- Orange County Sheriff's Office
- Orlando Police Department
- Oviedo Police Department
- Palm Beach County School Police Department
- Palm Beach Shores Police Department
- Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
- Palmetto Police Department
- Pasco County Sheriff's Office
- PBA News
- Pensacola Police Department
- Pembroke Pines Police Department
- Perry Police Department
- Pinecrest Police Department
- Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
- Pinellas Park Police Department
- Plant City Police Department
- Plantation Police Department
- Polk County Sheriff's Office
- Port Canaveral Police Department
- Port Richey Police Department
- Port Saint Lucie Police Department
- Punta Gorda Police Department
- Riviera Beach Police Department
- Sanford Police Department
- Santa Fe Community College Police Department
- Sanibel Police Department
- Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office
- Sarasota County Sheriff's Office
- Sarasota Police Department
- Seminole Police Department
- Seminole County Sheriff's Office
- South Miami Police Department
- St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
- St. Pete Beach Police Department
- Sumter County Sheriff's Office
- St. Pete Police Department
- Sunny Isles Beach Police Department
- Sunrise Police Department
- Sweetwater Police Department
- S.W.F.I.I.N.
- Tallahassee Police Department
- Tampa International Airport Police Department
- Tampa Police Department
- Tavares Police Department
- Taylor County Sheriff's Department
- Temple Terrace Police Department
- University of Central Florida Police Department
- University of South Florida Police Department
- Venice Police Department
- Volusia County Sheriff's Office
- Wauchula Police Department
- Wakulla County Sheriff's Office
- Walton County Sheriff's Office
- West Palm Beach Police Department
- Wilton Manors Police Department
- Winter Garden Police Department
- Zephyrhills Police Department
- Zolfo Springs Police Department
- Georgia
- Atlanta Police Department
- Brooklet Police Department
- Cobb County Police Department
- Colquitt County Sheriff's Office
- Dekalb County Police Department
- Dekalb County Sheriff's Office
- Fulton County Police Department
- Georgia State Patrol
- Hall County Sheriff's Office
- Moultrie Police Department
- Muscogee County Sheriff's Office
- Peach County Board of Education Campus Safety
- Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department
- Woodstock Police Department
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Aberdeen Proving Ground Police
- Anne Arundel County Police Department
- Baltimore City Police Department
- Baltimore County Sheriff's Office
- Dorchester County Sheriff's Office
- Governor's Office of Homeland Security
- Harford County Sheriff's Office
- Maryland State Police
- Maryland Transportation Authority Police
- Montgomery County Detention Center
- Montgomery County Sheriff's Office
- Morningside Police Department
- New Carrollton Police Department
- Prince George's County Police Department
- Prince George's County Sheriff's Office
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Atlantic County Department of Public Safety
- Bergen County Sheriff's Office
- Burlington City Police Department
- Deptford Township Police Department
- Elizabeth Police Department
- Garfield Police Department
- Kean University Police Department
- Livingston Police Department
- Long Branch Police Department
- Newark Police Department
- Rutgers University Police Department
- Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Police Department
- Pennsauken Police Department
- Salem County Sheriff's Office
- South Orange Village Police Department
- Summit Police Department
- Town of Clinton Police Department
- Wenonah Police Department
- Westampton Township Police Department
- New Mexico
- New York
- Department of Homeless Services Police
- New York Police Department
- New York Unified Court System
- Cazenovia College Campus Safety
- New York City Auxilary Police Department
- Town of Lloyd Police Department
- Elmsford Police Department
- Monroe County Sheriff's Office
- Orange County Sheriff's Office
- Suffolk Police Department
- Yonkers Police Department
- Geneva Police Department
- North Carolina
- Clay County Sheriff's Office
- Lee County Schools Special Police
- North Carolina State PBA
- High Point Police Department
- Cherokee County Sheriff's Office
- Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department
- Macon County Sheriff's Office
- Monroe Police Department
- Murphy Police Department
- Nash County Sheriff's Office
- North Carolina Highway Patrol
- Roanoke Rapids Police Department
- Salisbury Police Department
- Wayne County Sheriff's Office
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Baldwin Burough Police Department
- Bucks County Sheriff's Office
- Exeter Township Police Department
- Green Tree Police Department
- Harrisburg Police Department
- Lower Paxton Township Police Department
- Mount Joy Borough Police Department
- Northwest Lancaster County Regional Police Department
- Pennsylvania State Police
- Philadelphia Police Department
- Reading Police Department
- Scranton Police Department
- Swissvale Police Department
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Police Department
- Warrington Township Police Department
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Davidson County Sheriff's Office
- Nashville Metro Park Police Department
- Tennessee Highway Patrol
- Washington County Sheriff's Office
- Shelby County Sheriff's Office
- Johnson City Police Department
- Cookeville Police Department
- Putnam County Sheriff's Office
- White County Sheriff's Office
- Bristol Police Department
- Cocke County Sheriff's Office
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Arlington Police Department
- Alexandria Police Department
- Arlington County Sheriff's Office
- Virginia State Police
- Fairfax County Police Department
- Fairfax County Sheriff's Office
- Chesapeake Police Department
- Portsmouth Police Department
- Virginia Beach Police Department
- Norfolk Police Department
- Newport News Police Department
- ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement
- Police Emerald Society of Tidewater, VA
- Smithfield Police Department
- York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office
- Chesterfield County Police Department
- Henrico FOP
- Henrico Police Department
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- U.S. FEDERAL AGENCIES
- Air Force Military Police
- AFGE Federal Law Enforcement
- Amtrak Police Department
- Capitol Police
- Customs and Border Protection
- Department of the Army Civilain Police
- Department of the Army Military Police
- Dept. of Commerce/BIS/Export Enforcement
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Homeland Security
- DHS - Secret Service
- DHS-Transportaton Security Administration
- DHS-TSA-Federal Air Marshall Service
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- DoD - Fort Belvoir Community Hospital Police Department
- DOJ - Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.)
- DOJ - Federal Bureau of Prisons
- DOJ - Security & Emergency Planning Staff
- DOJ - U.S. Marshals Service
- DT - The Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau
- DT - Bureau of Engraving and Printing
- DT - Financial Crimes Network (FinCEN)
- DT - Inspector General
- Department of Veteran Affairs
- District of Columbia Housing Authority Police Department
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Housing Authority Police Department
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [DT]
- Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
- Metropolitan Police Department
- MPDC FOP Labor Committee
- National Capital Park Police
- National Navy Medical Center
- Naval Criminal Investigative Service
- Postal Police
- Treasury Department
- USDA FNS Retailer Investigative Branch
- US Army Criminal Investigation Command
- AUSTRALIA
- Law Enforcement Specialty and Support Units
- U.S. TERRITORIES
- BARBADOS
- CANADA
- COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA
- ENGLAND
- GERMANY
- GRENADA
- IRELAND
- ISRAEL
- KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
- JAMAICA
- MEXICO
- ROYAL ST. CHRISTOPHER (ST KITTS) and NEVIS
- SPAIN
- TRINIDAD and TOBAGO
- UNITED NATIONS
«
Previous Thread
|
Next Thread
»
Bookmarks