Alaska Public Pension Coalition

Social Security: Vital to Alaska Women and Families

As debate heats up on Capitol Hill about the federal budget, it seems nothing is safe. Conservatives are taking aim at programs vital to women and their families — including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other key domestic programs — while proposing trillions of dollars in additional tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

What these programs really mean to the individuals and families who rely on them needs to become a bigger part of this debate. The National Women's Law Center put together state-by-state fact sheets providing detailed information on the impact that Social Security has for women and their families in each state including statistics on the number and types of Social Security beneficiaries, average benefits, and the number of people lifted out of poverty by Social Security benefits.

[Download the Alaska state fact sheet for state-specific information.]

AARP's Educator Community (NRTA): Pension Education Toolkit

As state pensions continue to be under attack, more and more national policy organizations are providing helpful pension research and resources. The fact sheets and reports provide key messaging to help you defend your pensions.

NRTA has released a comprehensive Pension Education Toolkit, developed in collaboration with the National Institute on Retirement Security. The toolkit offers fact sheets and other resource materials that could be helpful in discussions about the attributes of defined benefit pension plans. Specifically, these resources can be used to defend your pension system by providing message points on the current economic environment, unfunded liabilities for your state pension system, unmet annual required contributions and much more. 

Access key resources of the NRTA Pension Education Toolkit including the following Topical Fact Sheets:

•The Economy and Your Pension. Group-based pension plans weathered the economic storm better than individual account plans.

•Pension Funding Gap. Pension funding gaps are manageable and can be filled in 30 years if total contributions increase by just 2.2% of payroll.

•Pension Contribution Requirements. Keeping the pension plan well-funded is a shared responsibility between employees and employers.

•The Importance of Your Pension. Traditional defined benefit pensions provide a cost-effective and guaranteed monthly income for life.

•The Importance of Your Pension (non-Social Security states). This version of the above fact sheet is for employees not covered through Social Security.

•Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs). COLAs help to ensure that retirees’ purchasing power is maintained, no matter how quickly prices might rise. 

Some Basic Facts on State and Local Government Workers

The public workforce has been the subject of much discussion lately — and, unfortunately, much misinformation.  A brief report published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities presents some basic facts about state and local employees:  the jobs they perform, how many there are, how their pay compares with pay in the private sector, and how much states and localities — mainly school districts, cities, and counties — spend on pay and benefits.

[Directly excerpted from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. View the full brief: Some Basic Facts on State and Local Government Workers.] 

New Research Highlights Value of Pension Investments for Communities

Pensions invest over $20 billion; 186 million jobs created from 1995-2010

As state and municipal governments seek to address serious budget challenges, pension critics are advancing misdirected proposals to cut or eliminate defined benefit retirement plans. Countering the critics’ claims that pensions impose only costs, American Rights at Work Education Fund released “Creating Good Jobs for Our Communities: Pension Dollars at Work,” a brief demonstrating how private and public pension funds help drive the economies of communities through investments that, in addition to producing solid returns, create good jobs.  

Download the brief here.

Fact Sheet: Public Employee Compensation

A new fact sheet from the Economic Opportunity Institute on public sector wages and compensation in the U.S. and Washington State finds public sector workers have more education and receive less pay than their private sector counterparts, describes the multiplier effect of public pension benefits, and notes that public sector job losses and pay cuts will slow economic recovery.

Download the fact sheet here.

 

 

Fact Sheet: Health Care Impact of the Defined Contribution Plan for Alaska’s Retirees

A defined benefit (DB) retirement plan (also known as a traditional pension plan) provides monthly pension checks -- a predictable, stable income that retirees cannot outlive.

 

A defined contribution (DC) retirement plan is similar to a 401(k) savings account. It provides no established monthly pension, and it provides nothing to fall back on when the “savings account” is depleted.

• Under the DC plan, the retirement savings invested by our teachers and state employees can be wiped out by medical bills if they have an accident or illness strikes in retirement.  If this happens, most of Alaska’s public employee retirees do not have the Social Security safety net provided in most other states.  [1]

Fact Sheet: Defined Contribution Plans Negatively Impact Public Employee Recruitment, Training, and Retention

A defined benefit (DB) retirement plan (also known as a traditional pension plan) provides monthly pension checks -- a predictable, stable income that retirees cannot outlive.

 

A defined contribution (DC) retirement plan is similar to a 401(k) savings account. It provides no established monthly pension, and it provides nothing to fall back on when the “savings account” is depleted.

• High Turnover: Because Alaska no longer offers a traditional pension retirement plan, the public sector is beginning to see high turnover in critical positions and ever increasing job vacancies: 40% in public safety alone.[1]

• Recruiting Difficulties: Federal government and private sector wages are surpassing Alaska public sector wages, and those other entities typically offer better benefits.

Fact Sheet: Economic Impact of Alaska’s Retirees

A defined benefit (DB) retirement plan (also known as a traditional pension plan) provides monthly pension checks -- a predictable, stable income that retirees cannot outlive.

 

A defined contribution (DC) retirement plan is similar to a 401(k) savings account. It provides no established monthly pension, and it provides nothing to fall back on when the “savings account” is depleted.

• In 2006, the average pension benefit received by DB retirees was $1,953 per month or $23,440 per year, hardly an extravagant amount. Under the new DC retirement plan, retirees will average only about half that amount [4].

Fact Sheet: Truth About Retirement Plans…Often Contrary To Popular Belief

A defined benefit (DB) retirement plan (also known as a traditional pension plan) provides monthly pension checks -- a predictable, stable income that retirees cannot outlive.

 

A defined contribution (DC) retirement plan is similar to a 401(k) savings account. It provides no established monthly pension, and it provides nothing to fall back on when the “savings account” is depleted.

The DC retirement plan DOES NOT SAVE the state money.

There is no significant cost saving in moving from the previous DB retirement plan, a traditional pension plan like Social Security, to the newer DC retirement plan. An analysis done by Buck, the state of Alaska’s current retirement consultants, showed that the former DB retirement plan for teachers actually costs three percent (3%) less than the newer DC retirement plan for these same employees.  

Fact Sheet: "Defined Contribution" and "Defined Benefit" Retirement Plans

A defined benefit (DB) retirement plan (also known as a traditional pension plan) provides monthly pension checks -- a predictable, stable income that retirees cannot outlive.

 

A defined contribution (DC) retirement plan is similar to a 401(k) savings account. It provides no established monthly pension, and it provides nothing to fall back on when the “savings account” is depleted.

In May 2005, the Alaska Legislature made a hasty decision that destroyed the fiscally responsible public employee DB retirement system that had long helped to build Alaska’s economic vitality and social stability.  The Legislature replaced it with a woefully inadequate DC plan.

• Overnight, Alaska went from having one of the best public retirement systems in the country to having the absolute worst. Alaska downgraded from a stable retirement brick house with prudent, long-term investors and earnings to a straw house with great individual risk and little financial security over the long haul, stifling the retirement readiness of Alaska’s public employees.