Public-sector pension plans, which provide retirement benefits to retired state and local government employees, have been in the spotlight lately, either described as woefully underfunded, as a drain on public finances, or usually with some other negative description. This panel will provide an objective discussion of the rules that govern the plans, their impacts on state and local government budgets, and whether the United States Congress might legislate on how the respective states must promise, fund and deliver benefits in the future. The panel will not only educate attendees of the conference on how public sector plans affect their own retirement prospects, or at least on how the plans affect their own state and local government tax liabilities, but the panel will also explain how this whole issue can be incorporated into the pedagogy of many law school classes that do not directly relate to employee benefit plans or state and local governance. If time permits, the panel will discuss other aspects of benefits promised to public service employees, such as retiree health benefits.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.