Don’t Cut Pensions, Expand Them (New York Times)

Last week, New York was one of 43 states that enacted legislation to reduce public retirement benefits. The number of states limiting pensions has been increasing by roughly 10 states each year since 2009. In February, John Liu, the New York City comptroller, called for a program that would pool employee and employer contributions into a professionally managed, citywide retirement fund. The flan would use a professional staff and institutional money managers that invest the state and city pension funds to manage contributions made by participating employers and employees in the private sector. Some estimates put the cost for public pensions over 45% lower than for individual 401(k) plans. Taxpayers would see no costs because the plans would be financed by workers and their employers.