Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has repeatedly attacked a linchpin of the Republican budget plan on legal grounds, arguing that unilaterally trimming pension benefits in 2027 to save millions now is doomed to failure in court. On Tuesday, in an effort to influence bipartisan budget talks, he said the GOP’s math doesn’t work, either.
pensions
Posted inMoney, Politics
Unions to CT lawmakers: We would see you in court
State employee unions sent a letter to all 187 General Assembly members Thursday, warning them to avoid pension changes that would lead to a court battle.
Posted inMoney
Nappier: CT pension investments earned big returns
Connecticut’s cash-starved pension funds for state employees and municipal teachers got a big boost last fiscal year, state Treasurer Denise L. Nappier reported Monday.
Posted inMoney
Wall Street agency warns CT budgets will be bleak for years
A major Wall Street credit rating agency warned investors Wednesday that Connecticut’s weak economy and surging retirement benefit costs are likely to plague state budgets and test the state’s fiscal management for several years to come.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy budgets for big raises yet seeks union concessions
Why does his two-year budget include $800 million for state employee raises — an amount that far exceeds anything Malloy set aside before and doubles the funding his staff estimated was necessary just five months earlier?
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy would bill towns for teachers’ pensions, cut middle-class tax credit
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Friday his proposed budget would shift $400 million, nearly one-third of the cost of municipal school teachers’ pensions, onto cities and towns next fiscal year — a move that would hit the state’s wealthiest communities the hardest.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics
A legacy of debt: Connecticut standing on its own fiscal cliff
The budget that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will present to the legislature Feb. 8, in an attempt to close $3 billion in deficits over the next two years, is only a portent of a far greater, long-term challenge facing the state. First in a series.
Posted inEducation, Money
Teacher pension costs to surge, widen hole in next state budget
State spending on retired teachers’ pensions is set to surge $282.7 million next fiscal year – a 28 percent increase the state is obligated to fund and is likely to worsen budget deficit projections for 2016-17 by $47 million.
Posted inMoney
Malloy in talks with state unions to restructure payments owed pension fund
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration is in negotiations with state employee unions — but only over how to restructure payments Connecticut owes to its cash-starved employee pension system, not any changes in benefits or employee contributions.
Posted inMoney
S&P analysis: CT less prepared than most states for recession
Connecticut is “poorly poised” to handle a moderate recession when compared to other states, according to a new analysis by Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings Tuesday.
Posted inMoney
Pew report: CT deep in debt, even considering its high income
Even weighed against Connecticut’s high per capita income, the state’s bonded debt and unfunded retirement benefits outrank most other states’, according to a new analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Labor savings: The big unknown in Malloy’s new budget
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new plan to cut agency budgets almost 6 percent relies heavily on cutting labor costs. His critics say it can’t be done by downsizing staffing alone, but also requires concessions. And labor union leaders decry both approaches.
Posted inMoney, Politics
GOP plan includes end to bargaining for state retirement benefits
Republican legislators offered a blueprint Monday to curb future state spending by, among other things, no longer guaranteeing worker retirement benefits by contract. The plan also would require several new concessions by state employees, restrict borrowing and overtime, and accelerate closure of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School.
Posted inMoney
S&P warns Malloy’s pension plan could cause bond rating cut
A major Wall Street rating agency warned it might lower Connecticut’s bond rating — pushing up interest costs on capital projects — if the state adopts Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plan to restructure contributions to the employee pension fund.
Posted inMoney
Treasurer offers alternative vision for state pension fix
Connecticut faces sharply rising pension costs over the next two decades — but nearly $2 billion less at its worst point than the nightmare scenario Gov. Dannel P. Malloy outlined two months ago, according to a new analysis Wednesday from state Treasurer Denise L. Nappier.