Let’s think about these two words for a moment…”covet” (to yearn to possess or have something) vs. “begrudge” (to envy or resent the good fortune of someone, to be unhappy or upset because someone has something you think they do not deserve).
Since the Great Recession in 2008, warnings of an impending pension crisis have been splashed across the business pages of newspapers across the country. Despite these boisterous decrees, America’s public pension funds are stable. We explore the roots behind the false pension crisis narrative and examine the facts.
Tagged pension reform, pensions, reform, Retirement Security, Value of pensions, Pension Health
My colleague Penny and I recently spent some time in Rolla to honor one of our long-standing members, Rolla Municipal Utilities employee Rosalie Spencer, who was celebrating 50 years with the organization with a lunch reception. Around 70 of Rosalie's friends, family and coworkers present and past were on hand to celebrate her accomplishment. "When I started here, I told them if they hired me I wanted to stay until I retire. And I am." Rosalie plans to retire at the end of April of this year, and because she has stayed for 50 years should be able to replace a sizable amount of her salary with her LAGERS benefit.
Tagged LAGERS, pensions, retiree, Retirement, Retirement Benefits, Retirement Security, Secure, secure retirement, Security, Financial security, Retirement, Retire
A utility worker from Rolla Municipal Utilities (above) clears debris.
Governments face many tough decisions when determining how to make the best use of taxpayer dollars. Citizens demand a certain level of service from public entities for protection, infrastructure, health, education, and more. Of course, in order to provide these services, governments need to be able to attract and retain qualified workers. The better the public workers you have working in your community, the better services you will enjoy as a taxpayer.
Tagged Retirement Security, Upgrade, Value of pensions, Financial security, Taxpayers, Retirement plans, Public service, Strategy
“I think ethics is the most exciting topic in the world to talk about,” said no one ever.
I know people who actually cringe when they discover a seminar or conference they will be attending has a session on ethics. Some professions require training in ethics—for example, those of us with a CPA license must obtain a whopping two hours of ethics training per year. (Thank you Enron, Arthur Anderson, etc…)
Tagged compliance, Defending Pensions, Defined Benefit, Getting it Right, Members, pensions, Retirement, retirement planning, Retirement Security, Secure, secure retirement, Security, Strategy, Goals, ethics
When will YOU be able to retire? This is often the first question many of our LAGERS members have for us. Determining when the best time to retire may be for you is a big decision. There are different answers for different types of LAGERS members:
Tagged firefighter, police, Retirement, retirement age, Retirement Options, retirement planning, Retirement Security, secure retirement, Financial security, rule of 80, early retirement, public safety
A recent report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes that retirement security for Americans is on shaky ground and recommends Congress do something about it.
Tagged 401(k), congress, pensions, Retirement Security, Savings
Recently we held our first Facebook giveaway. Did you see it? During National Retirement Security week (which also happened to be the week of our Annual Meeting) we held a T-shirt giveaway. We wanted to hear your retirement plans, and boy, did you have a lot to say! Here are some excerpts from the contest comments on what LAGERS members plan to do in retirement. There are some great ideas in here in case you're still trying to figure out what your retirement dream will be!
Tagged LAGERS, Retirement Security, Retirement plans, Public service
At times, when employers are considering joining the LAGERS system, they are choosing to switch from their standalone defined contribution plan to a defined benefit plan with LAGERS. These employers are making the choice to give their employees the ability to earn and receive secure monthly income from LAGERS when they retire. As well, they are setting a plan in place designed to recruit and retain quality workers while providing dedicated employees a path to retirement security. When employers are thinking about making the switch, there are few things they need to know.
Tagged Defined Benefit, joining LAGERS, Defined Contribution, Prospective Members, Retirement Security
LAGERS loves storytelling.
Tagged Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, Employers, Members, Prospective Members, Retirement, Retirement Security