TheRepublic.com - Government pensions and social security News

SEPTA engineer shortage leads to canceled trips

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:38:30 -0400

PHILADELPHIA - SEPTA doesn't have enough engineers to run all of its trains all of the time.

Lisbon man gets 4 years for identity fraud

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:25:32 -0400

PORTLAND, Maine - A Lisbon man who used his own child's Social Security number in a scheme to illegally receive welfare benefits has been sentenced to four years in prison.

RI paid millions to hedge-fund managers

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:34:06 -0400

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - Rhode Island paid hedge-fund managers almost $16 million in fees during 2012 to manage the state's $1 billion hedge-fund portfolio.

Lew taps government retiree pension fund

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:54:07 -0400

WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said late Monday he will begin tapping into two government employee retirement funds to buy more time before the U.S. Treasury is faced with the prospect of defaulting on the national debt.

Public pension employees skip Hawaii conference

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:53:21 -0400

HONOLULU - Organizers of an annual conference for people who manage more than $3 trillion in public sector pension funds in the U.S. and Canada say a significant number of administrators are skipping this year's meeting in Hawaii to avoid the perception they're wasting money by heading to the island paradise.

Gov. Quinn: Illinois has chance to make history

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:08:48 -0400

CHICAGO - Gov. Pat Quinn said Illinois lawmakers have a chance to make history on two fronts this month by approving a plan to fix the state's decades-old pension crisis and legalizing same-sex marriage.

CBO: Obama budget cuts deficits $1.1T by 2023

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:46:10 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's budget would trim projected federal deficits by $1.1 trillion over the coming decade, using nearly $6 in higher revenues for every $1 in reduced spending to achieve it, Congress' nonpartisan budget analyst said Friday.

Problems surface over Ariz.'s 2007 immigration law

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:34:25 -0400

PHOENIX - The immigration debate in Arizona reached a boiling point in 2007 when the state passed a groundbreaking law targeting those often blamed with fueling the nation's border woes: Employers who hire immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

Bolivia's Morales faces 11th day of protests

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:52:42 -0400

LA PAZ, Bolivia - Hundreds of miners, teachers and other workers have marched in Bolivia's capital on the 11th day of protests called by the country's largest union to demand higher old-age pensions.

Ore. House speaker opens door to more pension cuts

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:46:14 -0400

SALEM, Oregon - Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek on Wednesday backed off her refusal to allow steeper cuts to public-employee retirement benefits, potentially paving the way out of a stalemate that has stalled budget progress for weeks.

NY state's pension fund reaches record $160B

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:36:16 -0400

ALBANY, New York - The New York pension fund for state and local government workers has topped $160 billion after reporting a 10.4 percent return on investment for its last fiscal year, the state comptroller's office reported Monday.

Schools worry about covering teacher pension costs

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:56:18 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Public school administrators told lawmakers Thursday that some local districts would have to raise property taxes if legislators vote to have them cover the cost of teacher pensions.

House passes bill to prioritize US debt payments

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:15:46 -0400

WASHINGTON - The GOP-controlled House voted Thursday to make sure U.S. bondholders and people on Social Security get paid if the government hits its borrowing limit.

King, Messiah: New baby names suggest high hopes

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:33:21 -0400

WASHINGTON - Talk about high expectations for a newborn: King and Messiah are among the fastest-rising baby names for American boys.

American Samoa governor sued over pension fund

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:05:40 -0400

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa - The board of trustees for American Samoa's $200 million pension fund is suing the governor of the Pacific island chain.

NM legislators receive pensions, but no salary

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:38:05 -0400

SANTA FE, New Mexico - Voters booted Republican Dan Foley from office after a decade in the New Mexico Legislature, and within months he began collecting taxpayer-financed pension benefits - even though he was only 39 years old.

UK gov't agenda focuses on immigration, economy

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:38:48 -0400

LONDON - The message was one of thrift and austerity, but the messenger was opulence incarnate.

Ore. governor signs public-employee pension cuts

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:19:04 -0400

SALEM, Oregon - Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber has signed a bill cutting pension benefits for some retired government workers.

Gov. Gregoire benefits from old WA pension rules

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:17:44 -0400

OLYMPIA, Washington - Former Gov. Chris Gregoire is benefiting from old state pension rules that ended in 1977.

Fed keeps stimulus, says taxes and cuts have hurt

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:43:35 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve cautioned America's political leaders Wednesday that their policies are hurting the economy.

Florida Senate rejects pension changes

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:07:32 -0400

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - The Florida Senate on Tuesday defeated a proposal to revamp the state's vast public retirement system for future employees, denying House Speaker Will Weatherford one of his top goals for this legislative session.

Kodak to sell 2 Colo. units to U.K. pension plan

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:17:07 -0400

ROCHESTER, New York - Eastman Kodak Co. has agreed to sell its personalized and document imaging businesses to its U.K. pension plan as part of an agreement that settles $2.8 billion of claims that the retirement fund had sought from the photography pioneer.

US loans from China at issue in debt-ceiling fight

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:59:05 -0400

WASHINGTON - Despite what you may have heard, China isn't the country's biggest creditor. America is.

US consumers keep spending despite higher taxes

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:33:23 -0400

WASHINGTON - This year got off to a sour start for U.S. workers: Their pay, already gasping to keep pace with inflation, was suddenly shrunk by a Social Security tax increase.

PROMISES, PROMISES: Social Security pledge at risk

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:20:12 -0400

The issue: