pension reform

Faced with wildly divergent estimates of the cost of moving Nevada’s current public employee pension system to a defined contribution plan for new workers, a state lawmaker said Saturday he is abandoning the effort this session....

Now here is a story that SHOULD make your blood boil, especially because for some reason the story “hit” on Christmas Eve.

Pension Politics: California system plays hard ball in court – Opinion – ReviewJournal.com
http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/pension-politics-california-system-...

CARSON CITY – Nevada is among the states with the highest amount of government debt per capita at $14,949, according to a new report from State Budget Solutions (SBS), a non-partisan advocate for state budget reform.

The level of debt put Nevada at 37^th highest among the states.

CARSON CITY – The financial health of Nevada’s public employee pension plan is cause for serious concern because it is only 70 percent funded as of fiscal year 2010 with a $10 billion gap, a national organization reported this week.

The Pew Center on the States said the funding ratio in Nevada is below the 80 percent benchmark that fiscal experts recommend for a sustainable program.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s polices of low taxes and small government ranked it 18^th among states in its ability to compete and grow its economy, according to a report released today by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

CARSON CITY – More than 2,300 Nevada nonprofit groups have had their tax exempt status revoked by the Internal Revenue Service.

The revocations run the gamut, from the Edgewood Tahoe Mens Club to the Lovelock Alfalfa Seed Growers. Most of the revocations occurred in 2010 but were just posted by the agency last year.

CARSON CITY – Scott Beaulier is no fan of states borrowing money, but in his new working paper on transitioning public pensions to 401(k) style plans to reduce taxpayer liabilities to pay retirement benefits, the Troy University professor says it is an option worth considering.

CARSON CITY – Despite citing the need to reform Nevada’s public employee pension plan, Gov. Brian Sandoval did not introduce a bill seeking changes to the retirement system by a deadline Monday.
Even so, Heidi Gansert, Sandoval’s chief of staff, said the administration will “be a part of the conversation” as other measures addressing potential reforms to the Public Employees’ Retirement System are considered in the 2011 legislative session.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval is seeking significant changes to Nevada’s public employee pension plan in the 2011 legislative session to reduce the ongoing and long-term financial cost of the benefit to the state and taxpayers.
But if he wants fundamental change, he might look to the state university system’s retirement plan for faculty.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval will propose a change to the retirement system for new state employees that would reduce their current pension benefits by one half and cut the long-term liability for taxpayers by the same amount, his chief of staff said today.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Newly named state Senate Minority Leader Mike McGinness is adding his name to the list of Nevada policy makers who believe the state retirement system needs major change to head off a growing unfunded liability.