State Pension Woes Only Worsening …

MONEY AND MARKETS
by Nilus Mattive 07-06-10

I know some investors right now who are making major mistakes when it comes to retirement planning …

First, they have been consistently underestimating how much money they’ll need down the line. In essence they are pretending that inflation doesn’t exist …

Second, despite the major losses they actually experienced in their portfolios, they are acting as if those losses haven’t completely happened yet. Instead, they are basically just figuring that things will turn around if they wait long enough …

The scariest part: I’m not talking about careless individual investors, but rather the politicians and trustees running state pension plans … the collective retirements for hundreds of thousands of Americans!

State Pension Plans: Where Promises Meet Poor Planning

Solid retirement benefits have always been one of the big draws of getting a state government job.

After all, while state employees sometimes earn less than what they would receive in comparable private sector positions, they have continued to get guaranteed future retirement income even as major corporations have done away with their defined benefit pension plans.

But now, even state retirement funds are imploding, and promises are likely to get bent if not completely broken. FULL STORY