New York City Pension Fund New York City officials estimate the pension debt at $65 billion, but the Manhattan Institute estimates the debt at $142 billion New York City pension plans assess the return on long-term pension investments to be 7%, when the real return on long term bond investments is closer to 2%. […]
COMMENTARY: State Pension Funds Shouldn’t be Captive to Politics
This op-ed originally appeared in The Buffalo News on June 09, 2019. The politicization of pensions continues plaguing our state. In a misguided effort to fight climate change, State Sen. Liz Krueger introduced Senate bill 2126, the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act, earlier this year. This prompted an open letter from New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, urging Krueger to reconsider […]
Opinion/Letter: NY pensions deserve protection – Richard Brower in New York Daily News
This Letter to the Editor originally appeared in New York Daily News on September 21, 2019. Rockville Centre, L.I.: Re “Don’t be fuelish, Tom,” (Sept. 2): New York’s retirees served the state all of their lives. As a former vice chairman of the FDNY Pension Fund and advisory board member for the Institute for Pension Fund […]
COMMENTARY: Take Politics Out Of Public Pension Plans
This op-ed originally appeared in Forbes on November 4th, 2019. Ahead of the Great Recession of 2008-2009, housing prices were increasing by about 5% every year between 1998 and 2006. Yet major publications and almost all pundits missed the signs of impending disaster. More than seven million Americans lost their homes and millions more lost […]