Letters to the Editor • March 25, 2024
The National Institute on Retirement Security submitted a response to a column published in The Wall Street Journal on February 28, 2024 regarding the Alaska legislature’s proposed plan to create a defined-benefit retirement system for state employees. NIRS Executive Director Dan Doonan writes that the initial column “ignores the success other states have had managing […]
Letters to the Editor • April 6, 2020
In response to a New York Times article published April 2, 2020, article regarding public pensions, NIRS writes that characterizing these retirement plans that serve 15 million working and 11 million retired employees of state and local government as “time bombs” borders on journalistic malpractice. Indeed, public pension funds face challenges that will arise because […]
Letters to the Editor • June 24, 2019
In response to a column that appeared in The Los Angeles Times, NIRS submitted a letter to the editor rebutting claims that Americans are sufficiently prepared for retirement. In the letter, NIRS indicates that the assertions is the column are misleading at best and misleading at worst. The letter points to U.S. Census Bureau data […]
Letters to the Editor • December 18, 2017
With the debate on tax reform in full swing in Congress, tax incentives for savings appear to have avoided the chopping block. Yet, while sparing them doesn’t make it harder for American families to save for retirement, it doesn’t make it any easier either. There is much tax bill amending and horse trading still to […]
Letters to the Editor • July 12, 2017
Richard Hiller in a July 5th opinion piece is correct that focusing the retirement outcomes is imperative. In fact, the retirement outlook today for Californians is dim – only two out of five workers in the state participate in retirement plans. Even among Californians who have 401(k) savings, the average account balance is insufficient with […]
Letters to the Editor • June 30, 2017
The author of the recent opinion piece, The Slow Road to State Pension Reform, seemingly misunderstands that when properly funded, pensions are a cost-efficient means for providing retirement security to middle class Americans. State legislatures in nearly all states maintained defined benefit pensions as they reformed state-wide retirement systems during the past seven years to […]
Letters to the Editor • June 20, 2017
The Washington Post covers the economic insecurity of working Americans, which will grow as workers retire and pensions disappear. It’s simply wrong to describe taking away pensions from middle class Americans is a “smart step.” Reforms in virtually all state-wide public pension plans has occurred during the past seven years to ensure long-term sustainability. As […]
Letters to the Editor • April 18, 2017
Robert Pozen’s recent opinion piece sounds good in theory, but in practice it’s not likely to help some 60 million Americans who lack access to a retirement plan at work. Pozen urges Congress to repeal the new pragmatic programs that state policymakers carefully crafted to help Americans who will be at risk in retirement. Similar […]
Letters to the Editor • April 12, 2017
Unlike the incorrect assertion in Charles Lane’s opinion piece, data indicate that the large majority of teachers make a career commitment to preparing America’s children for the future. New research also finds that Americans agree that teachers deserve their compensation, including their pension. Pensions help retain experienced teachers, and that experience is a key factor […]