Pension Health:
A More Accurate Scenario

By Thomas Marshall, Mary Benner and Martha Lee Zins

We agree with the Minnesota Taxpayers Association (“State’s public pensions: A worse-case scenario,”) that pension reform should not be based on envy or hostility toward dedicated public employees, but rooted in principles of sustainability, sound management and good government. However, to rely on this group as the definitive source of information on the state pension systems’ financial status presents a distorted view of the plans’ health... MORE

Report paints inaccurate
picture of TRA

A blog post on the Minnesota Free Market Institute website on Dec. 16 posed the question, “Minnesota Teachers Should Ask: Will Our Retirement Fund Run Out of Money?” http://mnfreemarketinstitute.org/. The short answer: No. Blogger John LaPlante referred to a report from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College that is being disseminated nationally ...MORE

Pension Myth vs. Pension Fact

There are a lot of misconceptions, misunderstandings, misinformation and flat-out MYTHS about TRA and public pension plans today. Here are some FACTS to help set the record straight...MORE

Funding status improves; pension discussion begins

TRA’s funding status improved markedly in the past two years due to 2010 pension reforms and improved market conditions. As of June 30, 2011 it is estimated that the TRA funding status (market value) had risen to 78.4 percent from 59.8 percent in 2009...Read more in the Fall issue of the TRIB newsletter