Latest news with #pensionFund
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Prop B discussion hints at renewal question
Joplin council members and city officials are beginning talks on whether to try to renew the Proposition B sales tax because the police and fire pension fund it was put in place to address may close out several years earlier than expected. The half-cent tax approved by voters in 2019 addressed a low funding ratio in the Police and Firemen's Pension Fund. It is commonly called the pension tax. It was intended to bring the pension fund up to a funding level of 120% of benefits owed. It was projected that could take up to 12 years. But the pension plan's actuary recently projected that the plan could be fully funded, or reach the agreed upon 120% level of benefits owed, in early 2027. That would be five years earlier than the 12-year sunset given to fully fund pension obligations when the tax was proposed to voters. The actuarial report states that the plan's funded ratio as of Oct. 31, 2024, was at 90.1%. That percentage could fluctuate with market conditions, the city's contribution rate and other factors. Proposition B last year provided more than $8.6 million that was paid into the fund, which exceeded the actuarial recommended contributions for the year by more than $5.5 million, according to the actuary report. LAGERS In order to provide better retirement benefits at a lower cost to police officers and firefighters in the future, part of the Proposition B plan was to transition those employees and retirees who wished to move their coverage to the Missouri LAGERS pension plan and get them out of the city plan. LAGERS is the largest pension plan in the state for government employees. The city's finance director, Leslie Haase, said the final members of the pension plan are finishing up transitioning to LAGERS unless they opt to stay in the local pension fund. She intends to have a report on that status in September, she said. Council members discussed the handling of past sales tax campaigns for police and fire expenses at a work session Monday. Council member Ryan Jackson said of a Proposition B renewal, 'I think it's a great idea to keep that funding mechanism in place,' though he expressed concerns about going too far with campaign statements, such as those who said of Prop B that 'This is what is going to take care of these departments forever.' But the campaign gave voters a clear, strong message, he added. 'What I think gave that the resounding success is that it wasn't the mayor and city staff handing the rest of us, 'Here is the plan.' They said, 'We're here to give you some information. You guys figure it out.'' 'It kind of came down to three options. We did some public information gathering, working with the unions and department heads, and that's how we ended up with the public safety sales tax proposition and the council got the Chamber of Commerce to back it. I think it really made a difference and I want to make sure when we do this that we do it right and do everything we can.' The measure was promoted by the chamber with the slogan that it was 'A Better Plan for Joplin.' Mayor Keenan Cortez talked about the successful passage of the first half-cent public safety sales tax in 2004. It has funded the construction of new fire stations, the Public Safety Training Center, and the addition of needed firefighters and police officers to the city departments. 'I will also add that during that time in 2004 when we were working on that ... the city had come up with what was a pretty good plan and it looked it was going to be a long-term plan or solution to a problem that the city had for a while. And then 20 years happened. And there was a global pandemic, a recession in 2008, and a lot of things took place. ... I remember what we were paying police officers then, and it's almost double now. The costs of goods and services has almost gone through the roof' since that tax was approved. The mayor said he agrees that residents need to be involved in the process, 'but I caution to call it the solution, or the fix-all, or greatest next thing, because who knows what we're going to have 20 years from now. So, we can make the best plans we can right now, and I think Prop B renewal is one of the best plans we can do going forward, but I just caution that it is going to be end-all, fix-all' for public safety pay. Councilman Josh Bard said he agreed with the idea of getting a group of people to represent the proposal. Details on what the city would use a renewed Proposition B tax to fund were not discussed. Solve the daily Crossword
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
How to ‘sludge' HK migrants into leaving the UK and Canada
'Nudging' is the gentle way of pushing you towards making good choices; think of your nice parents. 'Sludging' is the opposite, designed to encourage you to make bad or at least suboptimal decisions; picture the car/insurance/mobile phone/real estate salesmen. They are terms in pop psychology borrowed from behavioural and cognitive sciences. Some governments such as that under former British prime minister David Cameron even set up a department of nudges, though it had a more respectable title. Whether it ended up nudging or sludging citizens remains a matter of dispute. One amusing example of nudging is about a European international airport – I forget which one – that needed to cut budgets and slash the number of toilet cleaners. So they started putting tiny toy-like goalposts at the centre of urinals so male users naturally aimed better rather than splashing all over. Here's another example, from an American comedy. The girls in a high school take to kissing – pressing lipsticks on – the big mirror in a school toilet. That creates a lot more work for the janitor. Instead of posting a public warning, the cleaner openly mops the mirror with water taken from toilet bowls for everyone to see. That stops the kissing practice in no time. There are, however, supposedly more sophisticated principles guiding a nudging policy when being launched, say getting workers to join a pension fund. It should be transparent and never misleading. Other choices, even those considered suboptimal, should still be available. You can easily opt out of any option you choose, at least within a reasonable time frame. And it should encourage behaviour that benefits you. Now imagine they are all turned into their opposites, and you have sludging in all its glory.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AustralianSuper Boosts Private Equity With Four New Deals Coming
(Bloomberg) -- AustralianSuper is increasing its allocation to unlisted assets as the country's biggest pension fund works to finalize four private equity deals by the end of the year, according to the firm's investment chief. NYC Commutes Resume After Midtown Bus Terminal Crash Chaos Struggling Downtowns Are Looking to Lure New Crowds What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing Massachusetts to Follow NYC in Making Landlords Pay Broker Fees California Exempts Building Projects From Environmental Law 'We are looking to put on four new private equity managers over this calendar year period and it looks like that is well in train,' Mark Delaney said in an interview on Thursday. 'The team know these managers from working previously with them and they have really good long-term track records in straight-down-the-line, conventional, private equity.' Delaney didn't specify details of the arrangements or names of the fund managers. The deals follow a build-out of AustralianSuper's New York office that now has around 60 people who are partly tasked with developing relationships with private markets fund managers. Delaney held meetings with private equity firms on two trips to New York this year, he said. 'Capital raising is very low and generally investing in vintages when raising is low is the best strategy for private equity, so we think it's a more attractive asset class,' Delaney said. AustralianSuper said in May the private equity allocation of its balanced investment option could grow to 8% from 5%. The move comes after a challenging period for the pension's listed equity portfolio as returns were skewed to a handful of companies including the Magnificent Seven group of mega-cap tech firms. The dynamic 'has not suited our style of portfolio,' but performance may improve over time given the fund's 'long-term diversification,' across asset classes, he said. Australia's giant pensions have weathered heightened volatility through the year as President Donald Trump's trade agenda and pockets of global conflict have rocked global markets. US stocks initially tumbled after Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement but have since reversed declines and on Wednesday set a fresh all-time high. Delaney, who oversees the fund's more than A$365 billion ($240 billion) in assets, said while US tariffs would likely slow growth in the economy and corporate profits, that does not warrant a reduced exposure to equities. 'There is a strong consensus that tariffs will cause a meaningful slowdown in the US economy but no recession,' Delaney said. 'We don't think it's enough for us to go underweight stocks.' Listen and follow The Bloomberg Australia Podcast on Apple, Spotify, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Terminal clients: Run NSUB AUPOD on your desktop to subscribe. --With assistance from Amy Bainbridge. SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House China's Homegrown Jewelry Superstar Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AustralianSuper Boosts Private Equity With Four New Deals Coming
(Bloomberg) -- AustralianSuper is increasing its allocation to unlisted assets as the country's biggest pension fund works to finalize four private equity deals by the end of the year, according to the firm's investment chief. NYC Commutes Resume After Midtown Bus Terminal Crash Chaos Struggling Downtowns Are Looking to Lure New Crowds What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing Massachusetts to Follow NYC in Making Landlords Pay Broker Fees California Exempts Building Projects From Environmental Law 'We are looking to put on four new private equity managers over this calendar year period and it looks like that is well in train,' Mark Delaney said in an interview on Thursday. 'The team know these managers from working previously with them and they have really good long-term track records in straight-down-the-line, conventional, private equity.' Delaney didn't specify details of the arrangements or names of the fund managers. The deals follow a build-out of AustralianSuper's New York office that now has around 60 people who are partly tasked with developing relationships with private markets fund managers. Delaney held meetings with private equity firms on two trips to New York this year, he said. 'Capital raising is very low and generally investing in vintages when raising is low is the best strategy for private equity, so we think it's a more attractive asset class,' Delaney said. AustralianSuper said in May the private equity allocation of its balanced investment option could grow to 8% from 5%. The move comes after a challenging period for the pension's listed equity portfolio as returns were skewed to a handful of companies including the Magnificent Seven group of mega-cap tech firms. The dynamic 'has not suited our style of portfolio,' but performance may improve over time given the fund's 'long-term diversification,' across asset classes, he said. Australia's giant pensions have weathered heightened volatility through the year as President Donald Trump's trade agenda and pockets of global conflict have rocked global markets. US stocks initially tumbled after Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement but have since reversed declines and on Wednesday set a fresh all-time high. Delaney, who oversees the fund's more than A$365 billion ($240 billion) in assets, said while US tariffs would likely slow growth in the economy and corporate profits, that does not warrant a reduced exposure to equities. 'There is a strong consensus that tariffs will cause a meaningful slowdown in the US economy but no recession,' Delaney said. 'We don't think it's enough for us to go underweight stocks.' Listen and follow The Bloomberg Australia Podcast on Apple, Spotify, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Terminal clients: Run NSUB AUPOD on your desktop to subscribe. --With assistance from Amy Bainbridge. SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House China's Homegrown Jewelry Superstar Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
03-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
AustralianSuper Boosts Private Equity With Four New Deals Coming
AustralianSuper is increasing its allocation to unlisted assets as the country's biggest pension fund works to finalize four private equity deals by the end of the year, according to the firm's investment chief. 'We are looking to put on four new private equity managers over this calendar year period and it looks like that is well in train,' Mark Delaney said in an interview on Thursday. 'The team know these managers from working previously with them and they have really good long-term track records in straight-down-the-line, conventional, private equity.'
