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On Page 30, The Statements of Changes in Plan Net Assets clearly shows that the plan holds $89,889,724,000 in assets as of June 30, 2011. This is a net increase of $13,044,787,000 over 2010. This is despite payouts and other liabilities which total $5,751,514,000. They paid out $5.7 BILLION but they brought in $13 BILLION. They ARE NOT BROKE, nor are they at risk of going broke.
Most of this is due to investments including government treasuries, mutual funds and corporate stock shares (see Page 63), including shares worth $1.1 BILLION in Exxon-Mobil, $891 MILLION in Apple and $477 MILLION in Pfizer.
They're lying to us guys. Read their reports in detail.
Page 32, Summary Schedule of Plan Net Assets as of March 31, 2011.
Net Assets at $ 149,548,551,000 which is a $15 BILLION increase over 2010. Total liabilities (which includes pension benefit payouts) was $9,366,448,000. So, they added $15 BILLION to the amazingly huge $149.5 Billion fund, but only paid out $9.3 billion.
Again, due to investments (Page 77) which include $1.4 billion in Exxon, $1.1 billion in Apple, $731 million in GE, and so on. The 90 page complete list of stock ownership by this fund can be seen here: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/retire/wo...istings_11.pdf
What do they do with this unbelievable excess of money?
Don't let them raise taxes to pay for pensions. They have the money many, many,many times over and it keeps rolling in every year the markets do well.
Our tax money is invested in these funds, in the form of employer contributions (which outweigh member contributions by FAR) to the fund (in these cases, and all cases relevant to this discussion, the employer is the government) which produce amazing profits year after year and yet our municipalities (the employers) claim poverty and "reluctantly" raise our taxes.
And, as a side note, add up the share ownership of these funds nationwide and you find that governments (collectively) have controlling ownership in most corporations. Every corporation or incorporated government publishes a CAFR. Most are online. Just about every government is incorporated.
I've been saying that for years...New Jersey and some other states thought they were being smart a few years ago and took a huge loss with their own stupidly. Don't believe these B.S. politicians for a moment
I think that one of the "pension risks" faced by future retirees is the vastly reduced availability of companies (and even states) who will continue to offer 'lifetime pensions.' In that respect, most of the future retirees out there today ... are pretty much 'on their own' or dependent on what looks to be an increasingly 'undependable' Social Security system. I don't worry about our retirement pension, but, I've got great concerns for my kids and grandkids.
On Page 30, The Statements of Changes in Plan Net Assets clearly shows that the plan holds $89,889,724,000 in assets as of June 30, 2011. This is a net increase of $13,044,787,000 over 2010. This is despite payouts and other liabilities which total $5,751,514,000. They paid out $5.7 BILLION but they brought in $13 BILLION. They ARE NOT BROKE, nor are they at risk of going broke.
Most of this is due to investments including government treasuries, mutual funds and corporate stock shares (see Page 63), including shares worth $1.1 BILLION in Exxon-Mobil, $891 MILLION in Apple and $477 MILLION in Pfizer.
They're lying to us guys. Read their reports in detail.
Page 32, Summary Schedule of Plan Net Assets as of March 31, 2011.
Net Assets at $ 149,548,551,000 which is a $15 BILLION increase over 2010. Total liabilities (which includes pension benefit payouts) was $9,366,448,000. So, they added $15 BILLION to the amazingly huge $149.5 Billion fund, but only paid out $9.3 billion.
Again, due to investments (Page 77) which include $1.4 billion in Exxon, $1.1 billion in Apple, $731 million in GE, and so on. The 90 page complete list of stock ownership by this fund can be seen here: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/retire/wo...istings_11.pdf
What do they do with this unbelievable excess of money?
Don't let them raise taxes to pay for pensions. They have the money many, many,many times over and it keeps rolling in every year the markets do well.
Our tax money is invested in these funds, in the form of employer contributions (which outweigh member contributions by FAR) to the fund (in these cases, and all cases relevant to this discussion, the employer is the government) which produce amazing profits year after year and yet our municipalities (the employers) claim poverty and "reluctantly" raise our taxes.
And, as a side note, add up the share ownership of these funds nationwide and you find that governments (collectively) have controlling ownership in most corporations. Every corporation or incorporated government publishes a CAFR. Most are online. Just about every government is incorporated.
Apparently you don't understand the pension system. No one has ever claimed that the New York State system is broke ... or even close to broke. There is a requirement that they be funded, which means that they must have sufficient monies to ensure that current and future obligations are met. New York State is one of the few states to have a system that is well-funded. In past years, when they have done well in the stock market, employer contributions were kept to a minimum (as low as less than 1% of payroll.) However, when the market does badly, employers are required to kick in more to ensure that the system stays fully funded. There's been a lot scrutiny on public pension systems recently and new accounting rules are requiring that they aim for fully funding their current and future obligations.
Who says the pension funds are broke? Or don't have enough to pay future obligations? That's not what their own financial reports say...
.
There have been huge increases in pension costs the ast few years in NY State, you are just looking at the income side, of course there are huge sums of money in the pension, it's a necessity based on the payouts. They need to look 30 years down the road, not just this year and they need a high rate of return to sustain payments.
If you don't like believe the politicians, look to the many independent studies that have been done by newspapers and other groups like the Pew center. Take a close look at the pension increases in the schools, villages, counties for 2011, 2012 and the current budgets in development, huge increases.
The panic set in in 2008-2009 when the market tanked. That freaks out the fund managers (rightly so) and they start picking pockets again. When the market returns, they are very slow to STOP picking pockets. It trickles down. The local subdivisions (like School Districts) also try to build up big reserves in boom times even to the point of illegality (above legal thresholds). Hard to fight it when the State does the same thing. Instead of lowering taxes, they stash the money for when the State decides to cut funding (like now).
Keep in mind most people are RULED by the media. Most media needs the population to be dumb. Todays population will belive anything a newspaper says. Newsday is one of the worst.
There have been huge increases in pension costs the ast few years in NY State, you are just looking at the income side, of course there are huge sums of money in the pension, it's a necessity based on the payouts. They need to look 30 years down the road, not just this year and they need a high rate of return to sustain payments.
If you don't like believe the politicians, look to the many independent studies that have been done by newspapers and other groups like the Pew center. Take a close look at the pension increases in the schools, villages, counties for 2011, 2012 and the current budgets in development, huge increases.
The CAFR clearly states assets and liabilities. With all said and done, AFTER all benefits are paid, they still have a net increase every year. Read the report yourself. It's very clear.
Yes, the payouts increase every year, but so does the income of the fund. For instance, The 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for NYS Teachers Retirement System can be seen here: http://www.nystrs.org/main/library/A...t/2011CAFR.pdf (broken link) - 2011-11-03
On Page 30, The Statements of Changes in Plan Net Assets clearly shows that the plan holds $89,889,724,000 in assets
as of June 30, 2011. This is a net increase of $13,044,787,000 over 2010. This is despite payouts and other liabilities which total $5,751,514,000. They paid out $5.7 BILLION but they brought in $13 BILLION.
Also:
As for the NYS Local and Retirement System Fund CAFR: New York State and Local Retirement System - 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (see link in original post)
This includes funds for Police and Fire.
Page 32, Summary Schedule of Plan Net Assets as of March 31, 2011.
Net Assets at $ 149,548,551,000 which is a $15 BILLION increase over 2010. Total liabilities (which includes pension benefit payouts) was $9,366,448,000. So, they added $15 BILLION to the amazingly huge $149.5 Billion fund, but only paid out $9.3 billion.
The CAFR clearly states assets and liabilities. With all said and done, AFTER all benefits are paid, they still have a net increase every year. Read the report yourself. It's very clear.
Yes, the payouts increase every year, but so does the income of the fund. For instance, The 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for NYS Teachers Retirement System can be seen here: http://www.nystrs.org/main/library/A...t/2011CAFR.pdf (broken link) - 2011-11-03
On Page 30, The Statements of Changes in Plan Net Assets clearly shows that the plan holds $89,889,724,000 in assets
as of June 30, 2011. This is a net increase of $13,044,787,000 over 2010. This is despite payouts and other liabilities which total $5,751,514,000. They paid out $5.7 BILLION but they brought in $13 BILLION.
Also:
As for the NYS Local and Retirement System Fund CAFR: New York State and Local Retirement System - 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (see link in original post)
This includes funds for Police and Fire.
Page 32, Summary Schedule of Plan Net Assets as of March 31, 2011.
Net Assets at $ 149,548,551,000 which is a $15 BILLION increase over 2010. Total liabilities (which includes pension benefit payouts) was $9,366,448,000. So, they added $15 BILLION to the amazingly huge $149.5 Billion fund, but only paid out $9.3 billion.
I couldn't get your link to work and didn't see it on the website, but I found this:
The employer donation rate was less than 1% going back 10 years and is at 11.11% for 2011-2012 and has increased each of the last 3 years. The issue is that they are heavily dependent on returns from the stock market, if you read through the original OP's link you will see 100 pages of investments in sotcks, bonds, international. People may not want to believe newspapers, but this is the teachers pension administrators telling you there is a shortfall.
The $150 Billion in assets is necessary to be able to generate income, if that fund decreases even a small percentage, they need compensate through increased employee donations or employer donations. There are many forces in motion such as indicated below from the link:
<LI class=para>Rate of return on assets; <LI class=para>Rate of salary growth; <LI class=para>Mortality rates for active, retired and disabled members; and,
Rates of retirement, disability and withdrawal. "
Think of it this way, they have $150 Billion and that is still not enough,that is why all the taxpayers in NY State are being asked to pay more in taxes.
The June 30, 2010 actuarial valuation produced a required employer contribution rate of 11.11% of payroll, representing an increase of 29% over the prior year’s rate of 8.62%. It’s also the System’s first double-digit employer contribution rate in 23 years. The large ’08-’09 fiscal year investment loss due to the great recession continues to be[/LEFT]
incorporated into the valuation’s asset smoothing method and is the primary reason for the increase in the rate.[/SIZE][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][SIZE=3][SIZE=2]Page 15:[/SIZE]
[LEFT]"Take our 23.2% return on investments for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011.......
Due in large part to the prudent investment of our assets, the System remains fully funded. Almost 90%[/LEFT]
of the System’s assets are generated from these investment returns."
The NYSTRS is much too heavily invested in the stock market, although they are in btter shape than the NY General Fund that was 25% invested in International Stocks and Bonds. Even with a 23% return they still needed to increase employer donations 29%, next year will be worse.
[/SIZE][/SIZE]
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