Flipping through old photo album provides a view of where we have traveled.  But, it certainly doesn’t tells us where we are today. The same can be said of the recent Pew Center on the States “new” report on public pension plans. 

When retirees spend their pension checks, that spending churns through the economy and supports jobs. American retirees spend money daily on food, medicine, housing and other essentials. This holds true whether the retiree works in the private or public sector.  It makes perfect sense.

For those of us who follow retirement issues, The Wall Street Journal’s excellent reporting on the retirement plight of Americans wasn’t news. We’re now seeing the human impact of a badly broken retirement infrastructure.

With the New Year right around the corner, hopefully many Americans are breathing a little bit easier. The unemployment rate finally seems to be dropping, and consumers are purchasing more this holiday season than they have in the past two years.