By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — Out of all 50 states, West Virginia saw the largest improvement in its public employee pension funds, but a new report warns that the state has more to do to sure up its pension programs.
The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Washington, D.C. released [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — A bill introduced nearly two weeks ago would close a loophole allowing retired state employees to return to work as contractors while still receiving pension check.
State Sen. Mike Green (D-Raleigh) introduced SB545 on Feb. 08. Green is the only sponsor for the bill, which would close [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — The Legislative Auditor’s office warned lawmakers that an unknown number of former state employees could be taking advantage of a loophole in state law allowing them to receive their pensions and still collect a check from the state.
Legislative Auditor Aaron Allred gave a report to the [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — The state’s unfunded public pension liabilities are shrinking after taking hits during the recent recession.
Officials with the state Consolidated Public Retirement Board (CPRB) gave a presentation to members of the House Pensions and Retirement Committee today.
The CPRB manages nine pension plans: The Public Employee Retirement System [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — Now with Marcellus Shale regulations in the bag, the West Virginia Senate is turning its attention to the retiree health care liability.
Senate President Jeff Kessler (D-Marshall) appointed five state senators to a subcommittee to study the multi-billion dollar other post-employment benefit liability.
“West Virginia’s fiscal house is [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — Despite global and domestic financial and political volatility, West Virginia’s investments are stable.
That’s according to the West Virginia Investment Management Board, which held its Board of Trustees meeting Thursday in Charleston, W.Va. The IMB invests the state’s money, mostly from pension funds.
According to Craig Slaughter, executive [...]

By Mark Lisheron | Texas Watchdog
You might call it the Big Little Bang.
On Nov. 17, the assembly for the smallest state in the Union voted by a landslide to take some pension benefits away from all of its public employees and 21,000 retirees.
Rhode Island assemblymen, one after another, spoke with remorse that evening about what [...]

By Frank Keegan | Watchdog.org
WASHINGTON D.C. — Every Ohio household should write a check for $76,000 today just to pay unfunded pension benefits for government workers betrayed by politicians and union bosses who made them promises taxpayers now must keep.
That is the bottom line from Tuesday’s vote on Issue 2, which among other things eliminated [...]

By Frank Keegan | Watchdog.org
WASHINGTON D.C. —Here is a great non-negotiable demand for college-educated Occupy Wall Street protesters to put at the top of their list: Get your money back plus damages! One entry to their Wiki proves their ignorance of civics and economics so profound and fundamental, it mandates redress. Your colleges and universities [...]

By Frank Keegan | Watchdog.org
WASHINGTON D.C. — Write a check for more than $1 trillion today, taxpayers, to pay for state and local government pension shortages.
Prepare to write another bigger one every year for the next 30 years, even if public pension fund investments match historic indexes of the past 30 years —  which would [...]