TEXPERS Board Member Billy Samuel Died After a Hard-fought Battle with COVID-19 |
BLOG POST - TEXPERS board member Billy Samuel died on Jan. 11 due to complications with COVID-19.
He received treatment in a Fort Worth area hospital for about a week when he passed away.
"Billy was always quick to crack a smile and brighten up your day with his optimism," says Art Alfaro, TEXPERS' executive director. "He was passionate about the soundness of the Fort Worth pension system and worked tirelessly to ensure all retirees and beneficiaries had a secure retirement and brought that dedication over as a TEXPERS Board member. I will miss my dear friend."
www.texpers.blogspot.com
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BLOG POST - The state's 87th legislative session got underway on Jan. 4. TEXPERS, along with the association's Legislative Committee and legislative consultant, is monitoring the session, especially for any actions regarding public employee pensions. TEXPERS staff will regularly update this blog page with the latest happenings that may be of interest to trustees and administrators of public employee retirement systems.
www.texpers.blogspot.com
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TEXPERS' 2021 Annual Conference and
Training Set for May 21-26
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REMINDER - After careful consideration, and in light of the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) developments, the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems' Board decided to postpone its annual trustee training and conference to May 21-26.
The location at the Austin Marriott Downtown, 304 E. Cesar Chavez St. in Austin, has not changed.
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The first edition of TEXPERS Pension Observer for 2021 here. We have an expanded edition printed and in the mail to our members. However, you can access a digital copy of the magazine now.
Click here or on the magazine cover at left to access your digital flipbook.
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Want to Advertise in TEXPERS'
Membership Magazine? Here's How!
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TEXPERS' quarterly publication, Pension Observer, resumes production early in 2021. We have advertising packages you will want to take advantage of before they expire. Click here to see our 2021 Rate Sheet.
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Older Americans' Spending Profiles: One Size Does Not Fit All
2 - 3 p.m. EST on January 26, 2021
Employee Benefit Research Institute Webinar
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NCPERS' FALL Virtual Conference
February 2 & 3, 2021
Financial, Actuarial, Legislative & Legal Matters
Impacting Public Pensions
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Confronting Obvious and Unexpected Risks in 2021
10 - 11 a.m. CST on February 9, 2021
TEXPERS Webinar Presented by Smith Group Asset Management
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TEXPERS' 32nd Annual Conference & Training
May 21-26, 2021
Marriott Austin Downtown
Austin, Texas
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TEXPERS' Summer Educational Forum
August 29-31, 2021
Grand Hyatt San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
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Texas & U.S. Public Pensions |
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Texas Teachers Creates $600 Million Invesco Real Estate Separate Account |
NEWS ARTICLE - Teacher Retirement System of Texas has formed a $600 million global real estate investment separate account with Invesco.
www.realassets.ipe.com
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Silver Lake Raises $20 Billion with
Latest Buyout Fund
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NEWS ARTICLE - Silver Lake announced on Jan. 13 it had closed buyout fund Silver Lake Partners VI at $20 billion, reaching its hard cap, company spokesman Matthew Benson confirmed in an email.
Investors in the fund include the $148.1 billion Texas Teacher Retirement System and $695 million University of Houston System, among others.
www.pionline.com
Note: Access to article may require subscription.
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NCPERS Responds to Forbes Column |
NCPERS BRIEF - Richard McGahey brings reason and balance to discussions of the interplay between state and local budget gaps and public pensions. (“Public Pensions Aren’t Causing State and Local Budget Gaps—The Pandemic Is,” published Dec. 30, 2020 on forbes.com.) Our own research, drawing on historical data from government sources, has demonstrated that public pensions work for their communities, not against them. States and localities benefit because public pensions traditionally generate more in revenues than taxpayers put into pension systems—to the tune of $179.4 billion in 2018, according to our 2020 report, “Unintended Consequences: How Scaling Back Public Pensions Puts Government Revenues at Risk.”
www.ncpers.org
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Education, Research, and Studies |
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Pensionomics 2021: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures |
REPORT - A new report finds that economic gains attributable to private and public sector defined benefit pensions in the U.S. are substantial. Retiree spending of pension benefits in 2018 generated $1.3 trillion in total economic output, supporting nearly seven million jobs across the nation. Pension spending also added nearly $192 billion to government coffers at the federal, state and local levels.
www.nirsonline.org
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Settling Securities Class Actions |
ISSUE BRIEF - Understanding the spending patterns of the elderly and forming an educated estimate of households’ budgets throughout households’ old age is a key element of retirement planning. In this Issue Brief, the Employee Benefit Research Institute explores variations in spending of older households using the Health and Retirement Study and the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey. The analysis also seeks to identify the factors that are correlated with spending patterns in order to provide additional insight for approaches to saving and investment for retirement. Such analysis can also help in the development of more effective withdrawal strategies during retirement.
www.ebri.org
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Settling Securities Class Actions |
REPORT - Despite a rise in securities class action filings in recent years, most of these lawsuits have settled before reaching trial. While settlement may allow parties to avoid the burdens associated with protracted litigation, the unique attributes of securities class actions raise various procedural and strategic concerns that can affect the settlement process. It is critical for companies and their counsel to understand these issues and continuously evaluate their settlement options from the outset of a case through the final approval of the settlement.
www.seyfarth.com
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CORPaTH's Virtual Summit Takes on
Challenges Posed by COVID-19
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VIDEO - The 2020 CORPaTH Summit on Dec. 16 was a virtual event about real-world developments in the fight for defined-benefit pensions.
While the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to meet in person, the CORPaTH community was able to learn about trends and developments from the perspectives of internationally renowned experts appearing on several panels via GoToWebinar.
www.seyfarth.com
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Economy Recovering Faster in East Texas Than Other Parts of the State, Economist Says |
NEWS ARTICLE - Speaking virtually at the annual economic outlook on Jan. 7, economist Dr. Ray Perryman says after a few hard months in 2020, the East Texas economy is showing signs of recovery.
www.kltv.com
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Recession Cuts How Much Lawmakers Can Spend With the Next State Budget, but Decrease Isn't as Bad as Feared |
NEWS ARTICLE - Texas lawmakers will enter the legislative session this week with an estimated $112.5 billion available to allocate for general-purpose spending in the next two-year state budget, a number that's down slightly from the current budget but is significantly higher than what was estimated this summer when the coronavirus began to devastate the economy.
www.texastribune.org
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How Much Sales Tax Do
States Collect Every Month?
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REPORT - A new experimental U.S. Census Bureau product and interactive map offer one of the timeliest snapshot of the amount of taxes states collect every month from sales of selected products.
The data showcased in this new report provide monthly sales tax information, by state, for the following categories: general sales, lodging, alcoholic beverages, motor fuel and tobacco products.
www.texpers.blogspot.com
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Highways Are Critical for Agriculture Shipping, Need More Money and Planning for Upkeep: USDA |
BLOG POST - A recent report from the Agriculture Department (with input from the Transportation Department) outlines 10 challenges and opportunities for stakeholders to maintain and improve U.S. highways and interstates that are critical to agricultural shipping.
www.irjci.blogspot.com
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Top Economists Seek Solutions to Inequality |
BLOG POST - Something remarkable is happening in the economics profession. Top researchers in the field have begun arguing for policies to alleviate growing U.S. income and wealth inequality.
www.squaredawayblog.bc.edu
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Teachers are In Danger of Losing Their Savings as COVID-19 Persists |
NEWS ARTICLE - During the pandemic, 74% of teachers say they are struggling financially, with 64% reducing or stopping how much they contribute to their savings, while 29% have done the same for retirement savings and 14% for their health savings accounts, the survey found. Additionally, 77% of educators were spending more time working than they were a year ago — and more than 60% were enjoying their jobs less than they did this time last year.
www.benefitnews.com
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Nearly 46,000 Businesses Slashed 401(k) Contributions During Pandemic |
NEWS ARTICLE - Thousands of companies have cut funding they typically pay to 401(k) investors, due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey.
www.cnbc.com
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About Us
The Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (TEXPERS) is a statewide voluntary nonprofit association that provides education and legislative advisory services to the trustees, administrators, professional service providers and employee groups that manage the retirement money of police, firefighters, municipal and district employees in cities across Texas.
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