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oooooob's JournalLargest Public Pensions Face $2 Trillion Hole, Moody’s Says
Source: Bloomberg
The 25 largest U.S. public pensions face about $2 trillion in unfunded liabilities, showing that investment returns can’t keep up with ballooning obligations, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
The 25 biggest systems by assets averaged a 7.45 percent return from 2004 to 2013, close to the expected 7.65 percent rate, Moody’s said in a report released today. Yet the New York-based credit rater’s calculation of liabilities tripled in the eight years through 2012, according to the report.
“Despite the robust investment returns since 2004, annual growth in unfunded pension liabilities has outstripped these returns,” Moody’s said. “This growth is due to inadequate pension contributions, stemming from a variety of actuarial and funding practices, as well as the sheer growth of pension liabilities as benefit accruals accelerate with the passage of time, salary increases and additional years of service.”
U.S. states and cities are contending with underfunded worker retirement systems. The 18-month recession that ended in June 2009 wiped out asset values and forced cuts to contributions. Now, liabilities are crowding out spending for services, roads and schools.
more at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-25/largest-u-s-public-pensions-face-2-trillion-gap-moody-s-says.html
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-25/largest-u-s-public-pensions-face-2-trillion-gap-moody-s-says.html
300,000 U.S. Students Live in Shelters, Motels or on the Street
For hundreds of thousands of students in the United States, their school day begins waking up in a homeless shelter, in a motel, or on the street.
It is estimated that about 300,000 American children in the 2012-2013 school year were living under these conditions while attending school, according to a new report (Education for Homeless Children and Youth) from the Department of Education. A breakdown of homeless conditions revealed 192,391 were in shelters, 70,458 were in hotels or motels, and 41,635 were without shelter of any kind.
Overall, 1.3 million students were classified as homeless, a record total, the report says. That was 8% more than during the previous school year and an 18% increase since the 2010-2011 school year. The vast majority of them (936,441) were “doubled-up,” living in the homes of friends or relatives. Nearly 76,000 homeless students lived on their own.
“The new data means that a record number of kids in our schools and communities are spending restless nights in bed-bug infested motels and falling more behind in school by the day because they’re too tired and hungry to concentrate,” Bruce Lesley, president of the First Focus Campaign for Children, said in a statement.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
http://www.allgov.com/news/us-and-the-world/300000-us-students-live-in-shelters-motels-or-on-the-street-140925?news=854350
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