Commentary

PENSION DEBATE INFO CENTER–Fair and Balanced?

The California Public Employee’s Retirement System (CALPERS) which administers the nation’s largest public pension fund has launched a “Pension Debate Information Center” which you can access here. It should not be surprising that they see the Governor’s push to shift toward Defined Contributions plans as “the most serious threat that CalPERS and other public employee pension funds have faced.” While there are some valuable resources on the site, does it present balanced information? Hardly. While their resource center includes one editorial from a newspaper talking about what a bad idea defined contribution plans are, they omit the dozens and dozens of articles and editorials that appear nearly every day talking about how defined benefit plans are threatening budgets across the nation. For an extensive look at the other side of this debate, send an email to jackdean@webcommanders.com and ask to subscribe to his daily “PensionWatch” email service.