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Connecticut Journal Register Is Bankrupt Again, Pension Costs Partly to Blame

"Journal Register said print advertising has dropped 19 percent since 2009 and that it represents more than half of total revenue. Additionally the New York-based company is saddled with too much debt stemming in part from pensions. A retirement plan trust with a $3.2 million pension-related claim is the company's second-largest unsecured creditor, trailing only the State of Connecticut, according to the bankruptcy petition."

City of Springfield, Illinois, Must Offer Benefits to Partners

"[Two professors] write to offer our interpretation of the legal status of civil union partners of city employees.... According to a State Journal-Register article from Dec. 20, the Joint Labor/Management Health Care Committee voted unanimously to not offer insurance benefits to civil union partners of city employees. According to the article, some city officials maintain that state law does not apply to the city's insurance scheme, given that the program is self-insured."

Dispute Over Illinois Retiree Health Premiums Heads to Court

"The battle over whether retired public employees should be required to pay health insurance premiums may finally be headed to a Springfield courtroom.... All of the lawsuits argue that retiree health insurance is a protected pension benefit, just like a retirement check. The lawsuit filed by Craven and Springfield attorney John Myers also contends that workers who took advantage of the state's early retirement incentive a decade ago are a special class because they relied on the promise of premium-free health insurance in deciding whether to retire early."

A Solution for Illinois Public Employee Pensions: Use Social Security Formula

"Social Security is based on inflation-adjusted earnings averaged over 35 years, while Illinois pensions are usually based on the (often spiked) four highest income years. Cost of living adjustments for Social Security are based on inflation while Illinois pensions increase 3 percent annually, in excess of recent inflation. Social Security replaces about 45 percent of average wages, compared to the Illinois pension's 75 percent. Finally, Social Security benefits increase very little on wage levels over $58,000 and there are no benefits on wages in excess of $113,000. Illinois provides the same 75 percent wage replacement on high incomes as it does on lower incomes -- and it is these higher income benefits that are bankrupting the pension system and the state."

Illinois Governor Signs Pension Buyout Bill

"The program's extended life comes with it authorization to borrow $1 billion of funds to pay for it using the same bonding method which originally funded the program in 2018 when it was introduced.... The buyout program gives members of state pension systems who no longer work the opportunity to receive a direct payment worth a portion of their pension benefits in exchange for giving up the remainder of those benefits."

Illinois House Approves Retirement Savings Plan for Private-Sector Employees

"The program is aimed at helping the 2.5 million people in private-sector jobs in Illinois who do not have access to a retirement plan through their place of work.... [T]hose workers would be automatically enrolled in the savings program [but] would have the ability to opt out of the program if they wished. Employers with 25 or more workers would have to offer the savings plan.... Supporters said 96 percent of the employers covered by the bill use payroll services, which means the program should be implemented at little or no cost to the business."

Thousands Hired in Illinois Ahead of New Public Pension System

[An] analysis of pension data has identified nearly 19,000 public workers at all levels of Illinois government hired in [the time span between the pension reform bill signing] last spring and its implementation Jan. 1.]