Episode 10 - Broken Promises

Pensions have long been considered to be the gold standard of retirement, the treasured benefit of public service and big company jobs. But because of changing demographics, evolving financial environments, and poor accounting practices, these once sure things may soon become a liability. With a reckoning soon approaching, will retirement, the markets, and all of us as a whole be able to survive this ticking time bomb?

Full Transcript Available

Chapters

  • 00:00 Preshow
  • 01:52 The Idea of Retirement is Centuries Old
  • 02:26 History of Pensions in the US
  • 04:46 Decline of Pensions
  • 06:13 Crisis Looming; Dallas Case Study
  • 08:58 Short Term Promises With No Long-Term Sustainability
  • 11:10 Musuem Tower
  • 14:40 What is a Pension Anyway?
  • 17:24 Risky Investments
  • 18:32 CalPERS
  • 21:36 Public Pensions vs Risk Free Investing
  • 23:35 The Individuals
  • 25:23 Wall Street
  • 28:14 Private Pensions Foreshadow Doom
  • 31:07 Where Will the Money Come From?
  • 36:22 Inequality and Discrimination
  • 39:43 A Better Future
  • 40:38 Wrap Up

Sources

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publisher = {Bloomberg},
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author    = {Armitstead, Louise},
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author  = {Whoriskey, Peter},
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author  = {Kopun, Francine},
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author    = {BBC},
title     = {Chile protesters burn buses over pensions},
month     = {Nov},
year      = {2016},
journal   = {BBC News},
publisher = {BBC},
url       = {http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37871415},
}


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author    = {Walsh, Mary Williams},
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year      = {2016},
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author    = {Koff, cleveland.com Stephen},
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publisher = {cleveland.com},
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}


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author    = {Booth, Danielle DiMartino},
title     = {Pension Crisis Too Big for Markets to Ignore},
month     = {Mar},
year      = {2017},
journal   = {Bloomberg.com},
publisher = {Bloomberg},
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author  = {Jeff Reeves},
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month   = {Mar},
year    = {2017},
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url     = {http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/finance/325564-the-pension-crisis-will-be-americas-next-financial-crisis},
}


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author    = {Hill, Amelia},
title     = {A world without retirement},
month     = {Mar},
year      = {2017},
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publisher = {Guardian News and Media},
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author  = {Roberts, Lance},
title   = {The Unavoidable Pension Crisis},
month   = {Apr},
year    = {2017},
journal = {Real Investment Advice},
url     = {https://realinvestmentadvice.com/the-unavoidable-pension-crisis/},
}


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author    = {Marsh, Mary Williams},
title     = {Puerto Rico Declares a Form of Bankruptcy},
month     = {Jan},
year      = {2018},
journal   = {The New York Times},
publisher = {The New York Times},
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}


@Misc{meisler_2017,
author    = {Meisler, Laurie},
title     = {Pension Fund Problems Worsen in 43 States},
month     = {Jun},
year      = {2017},
journal   = {Bloomberg.com},
publisher = {Bloomberg},
url       = {https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-state-pension-funding-ratios/},
}


@Misc{whoriskey_2017,
author  = {Whoriskey, Peter},
title   = {'I planned to retire years ago': A sobering preview of the U.S. without pensions},
month   = {Dec},
year    = {2017},
journal = {OrlandoSentinel.com},
url     = {http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/ct-us-without-pensions-20171222-story.html},
}


@Misc{otis_2017,
author    = {Otis, Ginger Adams},
title     = {N.Y. retirees struggle to survive after pension fund bottoms out},
month     = {Feb},
year      = {2017},
journal   = {NY Daily News},
publisher = {NEW YORK DAILY NEWS},
url       = {http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/n-y-retirees-struggle-survive-pension-fund-bottoms-article-1.2982399},
}


@Misc{worldeconomicforum_2017,
author  = {World Economic Forum},
title   = {Global Pension Timebomb: Funding Gap Set to Dwarf World GDP},
month   = {May},
year    = {2017},
journal = {World Economic Forum},
url     = {https://www.weforum.org/press/2017/05/global-pension-timebomb-funding-gap-set-to-dwarf-world-gdp},
}


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author    = {Egan, Matt},
title     = {GE's $31 billion pension nightmare},
month     = {Jan},
year      = {2018},
journal   = {CNNMoney},
publisher = {Cable News Network},
url       = {http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/18/investing/ge-pension-immelt-breakup/},
}

Credits

Daniel Forkner & David Torcivia

Published 08-02-2018 03:01