Month: March 2021

MoneyPalooza Monstrosity: State and Local Governments Should Pay Down Pension Debt

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://marypatcampbell.substack.com/p/moneypalooza-monstrosity-state-and

Graphic:

Excerpt:

If a state or local government’s public pension funds have large unfunded liabilities, those liabilities accrue at the assumed rate of return on the assets that should have been there to cover that liability.

…..

The point is this: if it makes sense to pay down the pension unfunded liability with muni bonds, thus creating new liabilities and thus new leverage, it makes even more sense to take a “windfall” of cash and pay down the pension debt, which creates no new state/local government liabilities

Author(s): Mary Pat Campbell

Publication Date: 26 March 2021

Publication Site: STUMP on Substack

CalPERS Rejects Reinvesting in Tobacco Again

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/calpers-rejects-reinvesting-tobacco/

Excerpt:

Saying he wanted to boost portfolio returns, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) investment committee member Jason Perez made a second try at reversing the pension plan’s ban on tobacco stocks. But Perez’s proposal was overwhelmingly rejected Monday night.

At a meeting of the CalPERS investment committee, Perez’s new attempt—his first was in March 2019—attracted only one other vote on the 13-member panel, from Margaret Brown. The ban has been in place since 2001.

The $440 billion pension system would have earned an additional $3.6 billion in investment gains if it kept tobacco stocks in its portfolio between Jan. 1, 2001, and June 30, 2020, according to an analysis by Wilshire Associates, a CalPERS general investment consultant.

Author(s): Randy Diamond

Publication Date: 16 March 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

The GameStop Woes Keep Plaguing Melvin Capital

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/gamestop-woes-keep-plaguing-melvin-capital/

Excerpt:

Melvin Capital is facing a wave of lawsuits from plaintiffs who allege that the hedge fund tangled up in the GameStop debacle has conspired to restrict trading for retail investors, causing them to lose money. 

The investment firm founded by Gabriel Plotkin disclosed nine legal complaints in its most recent ADV filing, which social media investors on Reddit gleefully discussed at length this week. The complaints were first reported by Institutional Investor.

The suits accuse Melvin Capital and other market leaders of colluding to restrict retail trading in January, when a freeze on individual accounts trading shares of GameStop, AMC, and other so-called “meme” stocks had retail investors and regulators crying foul play. 

Author(s): Sarah Min

Publication Date: 24 March 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

Seriously Underfunded Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans—Relief Finally Arrives

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/seriously-underfunded-multiemployer-defined-benefit-pension-plans-relief-finally

Excerpt:

The Pension Relief Act provides that for the first two years after enactment, applications for special financial assistance may be filed only by the following:

plans that are insolvent or likely to become insolvent within five years of the date of enactment of the Pension Relief Act;

plans that have a present value financial assistance that exceeds $1 billion if special financial assistance is not provided;

plans that received approval under MPRA to suspend benefits; or

plans as otherwise determined by the PBGC.

Author(s): Grace H. Ristuccia, Thomas Vasiljevich

Publication Date: 16 March 2021

Publication Site: National Law Review

Democrats saved union pensions after Hoffa’s long campaign

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/democrats-saved-union-pensions-after-hoffa-s-long-campaign-n1261125

Excerpt:

This account of the Teamsters’ drive to save retirement plans for millions of pensioners is drawn from interviews with several of the union’s officials, congressional sources and the public record. It begins with one Hoffa, the late Teamsters chief James R. Hoffa, and the Central States pension fund he started. And it ends with a yearslong campaign by his son, James P. Hoffa, to work the levers of influence in Washington to salvage the retirement money of union members.

Every Republican voted against the Covid-19 relief measure, and many of them specifically targeted the pension legislation for derision because they said it was an expensive gift from Democratic leaders to labor allies that would be funded by taxpayers.

“Americans know this bill will benefit states and unions that have been poorly mismanaged,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said on the House floor.

Author(s): Jonathan Allen

Publication Date: 16 March 2021

Publication Site: NBC News

Pa. officials outraged over multimillion-dollar ‘error’ by teachers pension managers

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.inquirer.com/news/psers-error-teachers-pension-monson-20210316.html

Excerpt:

Uri Monson, the chief financial officer of the Philadelphia School District, the state’s largest, in a social media posting called for “an independent investigation” by State Attorney General Josh Shapiro or newly elected Auditor General Timothy DeFoor.

“If there is any evidence of board members or anyone else directing staff to create a false report,” Monson said, “they should be fired and charged with Honest Services Fraud.”

In a reform imposed by the legislature and governor, the fund adopted a so-called risk-sharing rule some years ago that requires education workers to pay extra if their pension fund falls short of its investment target.

Author(s): Joseph N. DiStefano

Publication Date: 16 March 2021

Publication Site: Philadelphia Inquirer

$59 Million Settlement in Pension Plan Outdated Actuarial Assumption Litigation

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/59-million-settlement-pension-plan-outdated-actuarial-assumption-litigation

Excerpt:

A dramatic, recent example of this dilemma occurred in a Massachusetts district court proceeding, when an employer agreed to a $59.17 million settlement in a proposed ERISA class action accusing it of using outdated mortality rates to calculate pensions. Cruz v. Raytheon Co., Mass. Dist. case number 1:19-CV-11425-PBS, Feb. 16, 2021.

The employer had argued in its motion to dismiss that the retirees failed to make the case that the plan violated ERISA by unreasonably using a mortality table created in 1971 and a 7% interest rate to calculate retirees’ alternative annuity benefits it said would be “actuarially equivalent” to the plan’s benefits. The employer argued that its conversion factors for determining the alternative annuity benefits were reasonable and that the retirees were attempting to force their own arbitrary actuarial assumptions. The employer further asserted that under ERISA, employers sponsoring pension plans have wide discretion in determining which actuarial assumptions or conversion factors can be used, requiring only that the single life annuity (SLA) normal form of benefit is equivalent by actuarial standards.

Author(s): Jeffrey D. Mamorsky, Richard A. Sirus, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Publication Date: 16 March 2021

Publication Site: National Law Review

KRS APPROVES NEW INVESTMENTS

Mary Pat Campbell
KRS Approves New Investments

Excerpt:

The Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS) Board of Trustees held a special meeting Thursday morning to approve more than $170 million in investments. The move comes just one week before a new County Employees Retirement System (CERS) Board of Trustees takes control of the local pension system and its investments; the timing was not lost on several board members who questioned why they needed to act before the April 1 separation. CERS elected representative Betty Pendergrass pointed out that a majority of the money being allocated was CERS funds, which account for 76% of KRS pension assets.

Publication Date: 25 March 2021

Publication Site: KLC City Limit

CalPERS Shoots Itself in the Foot: Undermines Its Position in Insolent Letter Demanding JJ Jelincic Drop His Case Against Secrecy Abuses

Mary Pat Campbell
CalPERS Shoots Itself in the Foot: Undermines Its Position in Insolent Letter Demanding JJ Jelincic Drop His Case Against Secrecy Abuses

Excerpt:

As you can see below, CalPERS issued more ultimatums: drop the suit and provide what amounts to a document retention request to the board member that provided his notes to Jelincic.

And why should Jelincic withdraw his case? The argument is the legal version of a pratfall. Jelincic told he is liable for “aiding and abetting” an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by a a board member and interfering with CalPERS’ contract with said board member.

First “aiding and abetting” exists only in a criminal context. Even if there were actually a there there, please tell me what universe a prosecutor is going to saddle up to go after a CalPERS board member over a dispute over a clearly improperly noticed board meeting….and charge Jelincic too?

Second, the only fiduciary duty the board has is to beneficiaries. The reason California has such strong transparency laws is that its default is that secrecy is bad for the public and is not allowed unless there are compelling arguments on the other side.

Author(s): Yves Smith

Publication Date: 25 March 2021

Publication Site: naked capitalism

The New Zealand Pension Fund announced a $ 17.5 million bitcoin (BTC) investment in October

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.1olay.com/2021/03/the-new-zealand-pension-fund-announced.html

Excerpt:

It has emerged that a New Zealand fund manager invested $ 17.5 million worth of Bitcoin in October 2020, when BTC was around $ 10,000. According to James Grigor, the company’s Chief Investment Officer, KiwiSaver Growth Strategy recently invested 5% of its money in Bitcoin.

While several investors from KiwiSaver are unhappy with the decision, Grigor believes Bitcoin has become a commodity similar to gold and has many similar features, such as working as a store of value against Fiat hyperinflation. The official told New Zealand news agency stuff:

Author(s): Tahsin

Publication Date: 28 March 2021

Publication Site: 1olay

How to Make the Florida Retirement System Investment Plan an Effective Retirement Plan

Mary Pat Campbell
How to Make the Florida Retirement System Investment Plan an Effective Retirement Plan

Excerpt:

The biggest shortcoming of the FRS IP is the contribution rate. With a total contribution rate of just 6.3 percent (3 percent employee; 3.3 percent employer), the rate is, at best, no more than half of what is generally recognized to be an adequate contribution rate in a defined contribution retirement plan.

A total contribution rate of between 12 percent and 15 percent is accepted as necessary to reasonably meet lifetime income replacement goals when combined with Social Security and personal savings. Any retirement plan with a total contribution rate of just 6.3 percent will fail in achieving its primary goal— to provide a sufficient post-employment benefit.

Author(s): Richard Hiller

Publication Date: 26 March 2021

Publication Site: Reason

Testimony: Senate Budget Committee Hearing on the Progressivity of the U.S. Tax Code

Mary Pat Campbell
Testimony: Senate Budget Committee Hearing on the Progressivity of the U.S. Tax Code

Graphic:

Excerpt:

In case you are thinking, “Well, the rich make more, they should pay more,” the top 1 percent of taxpayers account for 20 percent of all income (AGI). So, their 40 percent share of income taxes is twice their share of the nation’s income.  

Similarly, in 2018, the top 0.1 percent of taxpayers paid $311 billion in income taxes. That amounted to 20 percent of all income taxes paid, the highest level since 2001, as far back as the IRS data allows us to measure. The top 0.1 percent of taxpayers in 2018 paid a greater share of the income tax burden than the bottom 75 percent of taxpayers combined.

Author(s): Scott A. Hodge

Publication Date: 25 March 2021

Publication Site: Tax Foundation