1. National Pension Update AFSCME California March 13, 2016

2. NPPC: Who We Are

3. Why Pensions? Provide retirement security
Median retirement account balance for pre- retirees is $14,500
401(k)s put workers’ retirement security at the mercy of the market
Pension plans consistently outperform 401(k)s
Cost-effective for state
Fewer fees going to Wall Street
Professionally managed and scaled returns because investments are pooled together
On average, pensions make up less than 4% of a state’s budget.

4. Retirement Security: The Big Picture
More than 70 million American workers have NO employer-sponsored retirement plan
38 million Americans have nothing saved for retirement
The median TOTAL retirement account balance is $3,000
Social Security benefits are less than $1,200 per month for millions of retired low wage workers with no other source of income

5. Types of Pension Attacks
Converting defined benefit pension to:
401(k)
“Hybrid”
Cash Balance
Smaller changes like:
Increasing retirement age
Increasing years for average salary
Opt-out provisions for entities or individuals

6. 2016: State by State Outlook
Arizona
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Missouri
New Jersey
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Texas
Wyoming

7. 2015: Who Are We Up Against? John Arnold Foundation ALEC
Koch Brothers/Americans for Prosperity
Liberty Initiative Fund
Seemingly “nonpartisan” organizations – Pew, Brookings, PBS
Ed “Reform” Organizations
Texans for Local Control (Houston based)

8. What’s The Motive?
$1.5B
$8M
$50M

9. How Does John Arnold Operate?
Bad Ballot Initiatives -- $1.042 million to Phoenix Proposition 487
Phony Pension Research -- $4.85 million to Pew Charitable Trusts
Anti-Pension Politicians -- $200,000 to Gina Raimondo’s PAC
Skewed Journalism -- $3.5 million to PBS Flagship WNET (later returned)
Academia - $2.5 million to George Mason University Symposia

10. Contact Information
Bailey K. Childers Executive Director National Public Pension Coalition