SLGE in the News
How Local and State Governments are Meeting the Employee Benefits Challenge
In the October 2020 issue of HR News, columnists Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene cited SLGE workforce survey data and comments from President and CEO Joshua Franzel, PhD, in a discussion on key public sector benefits issues, ranging from retirement and health to financial wellness.
World Pensions Council Citation of SLGE President Discussing Public Plans Data
SLGE President and CEO Joshua Franzel, PhD, was cited in the World Pensions Council article G7 Pensions: ESG, SDGs, Green Growth and the Road to Camp David, discussing the increasing prevalence of environmental, social or governance considerations among pension investments as reflected in the Public Plans Database.
Center VP of Research Speaks to WSJ re: NJ “Cash Balance” Proposal
SLGE’s VP of Research Joshua Franzel speaks to Wall Street Journal re: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s pension study committee proposal to move state’s public employee retirement system toward “cash balance” plans as a way to control costs and control liabilities. http://on.wsj.com/1EQlaDE
State and Local Fiscal Facts 2015
How widespread are municipal bankruptcies? Are municipal defaults increasing? What about state and local pension funding? State and local government revenues have been slowly improving, making it possible for many officials to take steps to address their fiscal challenges. ICMA and the national organizations representing the nation’s governors, state legislatures, and state and local officials […]
Good returns ease public pension fund fears as GASB changes take hold
Center President/CEO Elizabeth Kellar tells Pensions&Investments that even good GASB numbers should not take attention away from the need for elected officials to focus on funding plans and decisions about setting annual contribution rates. (9/15/14)
GovLoop Talks Next Gen Retirement Planning with the Center
Chris Dorobek of the DorobekINSIDER program talks with Center President/CEO Elizabeth Kellar and Vice President of Research Joshua Franzel about their PM magazine cover story on how post-recession benefit changes are affecting the retirement strategies of new hires. (2/3/14)
Retirement: Why the Next Generation Needs a Plan
Center President/CEO Elizabeth Kellar and Vice President of Research Joshua Franzel look at how post-recession benefit changes affect the retirement strategies of new hires and what government employers can do to help them in this PM magazine cover story. (Jan/Feb. 2014)
Is the public pension crisis overstated?
Center President & CEO Elizabeth Kellar tells benefitpro.com that the glass is more than half full when it comes to pension funding. While a few cities have serious challenges, most are in reasonably good shape, making the status of public pensions much more nuanced than is usually portrayed. (10/25/13)
Inflation Assumptions Under the Spotlight
Asset International’s Chief Investment Officer covers a new paper co-authored by Center Vice President of Research Joshua Franzel, “Public Pension Plans and Inflation: Assumptions Used at the State and Local Level in the United States and Other Jurisdictions.” (10/4/13)
Keys to Pension Sustainability and Communications
Are growing pension liabilities the reason Detroit, Stockton, and San Bernardino had to declare bankruptcy? Center President & CEO Elizabeth Kellar took part in a webinar, “Getting a Grip on GASB and Pension Funding,” that tried to answer that and other questions. (9/5/13)
State, local governments step up pension plan changes
Forty-four percent of state and local governments made pension plan changes over a 12-month period, up from 37% in the previous 12 months, according to an annual survey released Wednesday by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence. (5/15/13)
Public pensions on the mend?
From the Bankrate.com Retirement Blog: The fiscal stability of state and local government pensions has been the source of much retirement planning consternation, but the recent Future of Retirement summit, sponsored by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, was upbeat about the issue. (4/29/13)
Center Summit Debates Widespread Changes to Retirement Plans
Nationally recognized experts and practitioners gathered in Washington, DC, at the Future of Retirement Summit to examine how demographic, workforce, legal, financial, policy, and political challenges are changing local and state government retirement strategies. (4/24/13)
Center and National Associations Issue Pension Funding Guide
A new guide from the Center, the “Big 7″ state and local government associations, and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) provides key facts about public pension plans and a brief overview of the issues that state and local officials should address.
New speakers added: The Future of Retirement Summit – Register now!
Registration is now open for the Center’s Future of Retirement Summit. The April 16 event will address the workforce, legal, financial, policy, and political challenges facing local and state governments as they retool their retirement benefits.
Public Sector Retirement Plan Changes Identified in ICMA-RC/SLGE Brief
According to a brief released by ICMA-RC and the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), one-third of human resource executives made changes to the retirement plans they offer to employees within the past 12 months. (10/8/12)
GASB rules have pension execs prepping own accounting standards
To help decision-makers make long-range decisions, the Center for State and Local Government Excellence convened a task force of public pension employer and administrator groups to develop their own recommended standards and practices for pension funding that can be supported by the actuarial community and lead to consistent reporting (login may be required). (6/5/12)
A Mixed Bag: New Issue Brief on Public Plan Funding
What’s wrong with this picture? The stock market is up; state and local government revenues are on the rise; and governmental pension plans have made record numbers of changes, raising employee contributions for all workers and/or reducing benefits for new workers. However, the funded status of public pension plans has once again slipped. (5/7/12)
More Local Governments Cuts Accelerate in Jobs Report
A new survey shows state and local governments have sought to stave off job cuts by pushing down payroll expenses in other ways. The survey by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence reported 51 percent of governments implemented pay freezes, while 42 percent suspended hiring. (5/4/12)
San Francisco Accepts Workforce Award in National Competition
The Center for State and Local Government Excellence (Center) recognized San Francisco’s comprehensive approach to its workforce challenges at the National League of Cities (NLC) Congress of Cities in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 11. (11/11/11)
Center Recognizes Local Governments for Workforce Excellence
The City and County of San Francisco has been selected for the inaugural Local Government Workforce Excellence Award, the Center for State and Local Government Excellence announced today. Two other local governments will receive honorable mention awards: Coconino County, Arizona, and the local governments of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, California. (11/8/11)