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State News
Proposed Pension Reform Motivates Big Spending in Alaska's Legislative Races
Eighteen years after Alaska's Legislature voted to end the state's guaranteed public pension system, retirement benefits are again playing a key role in the state's election. "It's not an issue to the public. It's an issue to the people who are backing the individual candidates," said Joelle Hall, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, the state's largest labor organization. Read more
Lawmakers Examine Oklahoma Pension Systems & Consider Reform Options
The House Banking Financial Services and Pensions Committee discussed the funding status of Oklahoma pension systems...The Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System has a defined benefit plan with more than $12.2 billion in assets under management, nearly 28,000 active members, 37,041 retired members and an average benefit of $18,966. Read more
Connecticut Retirement Benefit Debate Looms Large Over Next Term
Connecticut will dedicate more than a tenth of its budget this year toward retirement benefits for state employees, past and present. While candidates say it doesn’t come up frequently during forums or door-to-door chats with voters, there’s a good chance the next General Assembly will vote on these benefits in the coming term for the first time since 2017. Read more
Maryland's Carroll County Seeks Investment Consultant for DB Plans
Carroll County, Westminster, Md., is searching for an investment consultant for its $140 million Carroll County Pension Plan and its $50 million Carroll County Public Safety Pension Plan, according to an RFP posted on the Public Purchase procurement website. The county has issued an RFP due to the upcoming expiration of the current consultant’s contract on Dec. 31, according to a Q&A accompanying the RFP documents. Read more
Bipartisan Poll: Arizona Voters Support Protecting Union Jobs & Labor Laws
Ahead of Election Day, a new survey shows Arizona voters are overwhelmingly supportive of labor law protections and are opposed to cuts affecting public sector workers and teachers. John Davis, partner at the polling firm Red America, Blue America Research, said their data show if Arizonans are directly affected by things such as changes to overtime pay, or are worried about teacher shortages... Read more
Ohio Teachers’ Outgoing Executive Director Defends Fund’s Position After Months of TurmoilAfter months of controversy, the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System could be turning a corner. At least, according to its outgoing executive director Lynn Hoover, who said that the “fund is going in the right direction.” “We’ve made very hard decisions,” she told Institutional Investor, adding that she believes the fund is now well managed and has some of the top returns among pensions in the country. Read more
Illinois Teachers Announces $1.7 Billion in Hires, Investments, Commitments
Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, Springfield, disclosed manager hires, investments and commitments totaling $1.7 billion. The $74 billion pension fund’s investment staff disclosed the actions at its Oct. 25 meeting, a spokeswoman said. Within the pension fund’s $21.4 billion global income portfolio, TRS hired Brown Brothers Harriman, TCW Group and Longfellow Investment Management to run $400 million, $400 million and $200 million, respectively, in active domestic core-plus fixed income portfolios. Read more
NYC Comptroller Proposes Stopping Pensions’ Private Market Investments in Fossil Fuels
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander put forth a proposal that would stop the city’s three pension funds from future private equity and infrastructure portfolio investments in midstream and downstream fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminal... Read more
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Seeks Real Estate Managers
The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, a $54.9 billion public pension fund, is seeking a manager that operates a residential real estate strategy, according to a request for proposal. The fund may consider multiple managers and anticipates committing at least $50 million per strategy. The fund will only consider closed-ended funds. Read more
Indiana Prosecutors & Defenders Ask for Pension Upgrades to Aid Recruitment & Retention
Hoosier prosecutors and public defenders pitched lawmakers on pension upgrades to boost recruitment and retention amid the state’s attorney shortage. The interim committee also hinted that a recently approved, long-term plan for pension bonuses — in which some retirees receive 13th checks and others get cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) — is anything but set in stone. The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council’s Chris Daniels said prosecutors’ offices around the state are “becoming so overwhelmed” that they “can’t handle” caseloads. Read more
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