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Many Americans are at risk of outliving their retirement savings. State pension plans could have a new role: selling longevity insurance. It could even save states money in the long run. Read more

National News

Which Matters More When Recruiting, Wages or Benefits?

Allison Cole, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, said that when given the choice between a job that offers higher wages but no employer match and a job that offers lower wages but has an employer match, many highly skilled workers will sway toward companies that offer a generous retirement plan. In her research, Cole analyzed a large dataset of employee resumes that made up about one-third of the U.S. workforce. Read more

ESG and Public Pension Investing in 2023: A Year-To-Date Recap and Analysis

Since 2021, Ropes & Gray has been actively tracking the various approaches states have taken on how or whether environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors should be applied to the investment decisions for public retirement systems. This white paper seeks to provide context for understanding what has happened in the states in 2023 along with considerations that asset managers should be mindful of when engaging with public retirement plans. Read more

Sens. Sherrod Brown and Jack Reed Sound Alarm on Private Credit

Two senators urged federal regulators to monitor risks that the private credit market may pose to the financial system, citing the industry's lack of regulatory oversight. Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who serves as a member of the Banking Committee, wrote in a Nov. 29 letter to regulators that "the lack of transparency in (the private credit) market obscures its true size and risk." Read more

Higher Interest Costs Will Continue for Some Time, Study Says

The so-called ‘natural interest rate’ is on the rise and will keep the cost of money aloft into the 2030s, per Bloomberg Economics. Previously, the natural rate—which would keep the economy in balance at full employment (typically 95% or above)—was estimated in the vicinity of 1.7%, and now it is approaching about 2.7%, where the Bloomberg study predicted it will stay for years into the 2030s. Read more

Conservative Groups Want Another Shot at Overturning Nasdaq's Board Diversity Rule

After a three-judge panel last month rejected their lawsuit seeking to overturn Nasdaq's board diversity rule, the conservative groups behind the legal challenge would like an entire federal appeals court to hear the case. Read more

Canadian Newsï»¿

Union Protests N.B.’s Plan to Transform Public Sector DB Pension PlansThe New Brunswick government introduced legislation Wednesday to transfer five of its public sector defined benefit pension plans to shared-risk plans, saying the move will ensure the sustainability of plans that have become unaffordable. The move, which would affect 7,800 active pension plan members, has sparked outrage among the unions involved. Read more

State News

New Mexico’s Public Employee Retirement Funds Move Closer to Being Fully Funded

The latest numbers from the state’s two big public retirement funds, covering public employees and educational employees, show that both accounts have made gains over the last few years. Read more

MassPRIM Committee Drops 'ESG' in Favor of Stewardship, Sustainability

Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management's board voted Nov. 30 to change the name of the $95.2 billion Boston-based state pension fund's ESG Committee to the Stewardship and Sustainability Committee. Read more

LACERA's CIO, Staff Get Delegated Authority to Hire, Fire Managers

Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, Pasadena, Calif., revised its investment policy to delegate manager selection and termination to its CIO and investment staff. Read more

Public Pension Funding Improvements on Display in West Virginia

West Virginia has been one of the most impressive states in turning around pension funding, reducing debt by 90% in recent decades through positive amortization, policy revision and supplemental funding, according to a report from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Read more

Anti-ESG Claim Faces First Legal Test in New York

A New York court may be the first to consider a legal claim leveled by critics of investment managers who account for climate risk. The case — and the theory that asset managers breached their fiduciary duties by including climate-related risks when assessing the financial liability of energy companies — “could open up a floodgate of litigation,” said Robert Skinner, a partner at Ropes & Gray. But the New York lawsuit — if successful — could unlock a new legal claim for critics of ESG investing. Read more

Rhode Island Retirees Want Union Leader Off Pension Study Group

Retirees clamoring for the reinstatement of their annual COLAs are seeking the removal of top-ranked union leader Patrick Crowley from a new pension study group. Their calls for his removal came in response to Crowley's acknowledgment that, as the political director for the state's largest teachers' union and the No. 2 in the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, his priority is current-day workers. Read more

New York State Common Earmarks $1.9B in September Investments

The New York State Common Retirement Fund committed nearly $1.9 billion in investment allocations to external managers in September, more than half of which was earmarked for its credit portfolio. Read more

North Carolina Taxpayers Could Be Liable For Billions If Lawmakers Fail To Remedy Provisions Of The ’24 Budget

North Carolina has a long track record for managing one of the best public pension plans in the U.S. But the financial stability of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) and State Health Plan could take a dramatic turn for the worse if the legislature doesn’t quickly take action to remedy a provision in the recently enacted $30 billion state budget. Read more

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