On October 28, 2013, SCEPA Research Assistant Kate Bahn presented SCEPA's report, "Are Connecticut Workers Ready for Retirement?" at the first meeting of the state's Retirement Security Plan Roundtable. The ongoing series is spearheaded by Connecticut State Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney and House Majority Leader Joseph Aresimowicz. The series will focus on how to prevent a looming retirement crisis in the state by establishing a state-administered retirement saving plan for low-income, private sector workers. This proposal, modeled after SCEPA's State GRA plan, was described in Senate bill senate SB 54.

Bahn's presentation documented the decline in employer-sponsored retirement plans in the state, making it harder for Connecticut residents to prepare for retirement and leaving them vulnerable to downward mobility as they get older.

I am pleased to be an invited speaker at the Sustainable State & Local Retirement Systems: Responsible Stewardship of Public Funds & Fairness for Employees. This convening will bring together state legislative leaders, plan officials, and national thought leaders to discuss the steps states can take to address underfunded public pension plans and best practices for putting retirement systems on a sustainable path. Many states and cities are seeking to balance responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars and the ability to recruit and retain a high-quality workforce. We seek to help policymakers wrestle with questions of benefit plan design, evaluation of funding mechanisms, and examination of the legal framework for reform.

Session topics include:

• Retirement reform and the law
• Retirement for police and firefighters
• Retirement for teachers
• Retirement reform and the media
• Asking more from actuaries

October 24-25, 2013 

Mandarin Oriental Hotel
1330 Maryland Ave SW
Washington, District of Columbia 20001

6:00pm, Friday, October 25, 2013
The New School
Wolff Conference Room
6 East 16th Street, Room 1103
New York, NY

SCEPA was honored to welcome Robert L. Gordon, distinguished economist from Northwestern University and brother of SCEPA founder David Gordon, to present the annual Irene & Bernard L. Schwartz Lecture.

Professor Gordon has rocked the economics profession and the employment policy debates at the highest levels with his recent – and controversial - work predicting an end to economic growth as we know it. He writes, "Our best days may be behind us." He debated his theory in a recent TED talk and was featured in New York Magazine, where he is described as a "declinist and an accidental social theorist."

Gordon's work demonstrates the shrinking impact of innovation due to the "headwinds" of debt, demographic change, diminishing educational returns, and inequality. Focusing on inequality, Gordon will compare his own policy recommendations with those put forward by his brother in his book, Fat and Mean.

New School economists David Howell, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, and Anwar Shaikh, Professor of Economics, will join Gordon in a debate on inequality. Howell will argue that Gordon has ignored the powerful growth consequences of redistributing wealth and power away from the very wealthy, and Shaikh will give us the long-view of periodic crises in capitalist economies, where the end of growth is periodically predicted.

Participants:
Robert J. Gordon, Stanley G. Harris Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of Economics, Northwestern University
David Howell, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, The New School for Public Engagement
Anwar Shaikh, Professor of Economics, The New School for Social Research

Moderator:
Teresa Ghilarducci, Chair of the Economics Department at The New School for Social Research, and Director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis

You can join the conversation on Twitter using #gordonecon.

On October 23, 2013, the Maryland legislature will hold a hearing on Senate Bill 1051, the Maryland Private Sector Employees Pension Plan sponsored by Senator James Rosapepe. The bill will be heard in Annapolis by the Maryland Joint Committee on Pensions. SCEPA submitted written testimony regarding the state of future retirees in Maryland based on our March 2013 report, "Are Maryland Workers Ready for Retirement?" The report received headlines in the state last spring for its findings that '40% of older households in Maryland are ill-prepared for retirement' and that '49% of those working in Maryland are not enrolled in an employee-sponsored retirement plan.' 

SCEPA testified at a hearing in the Maryland House of Delegates on similar legislation sponsored by Delegate Tom Hucker that would increase access to a retirement savings plans by giving workers the option of opening an individual Guaranteed Retirement Account (GRA) through the existing Maryland State Retirement and Pension System. The Guaranteed Retirement Account (GRA) is based on Ghilarducci's STATE GRA plan, which was recently enacted in California.

Is the government shutdown just political theater or are there larger economic consequences to this new normal of extreme political brinkmanship? 

The Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA) hosted three New School economists on the economic fallout of the government shut down. Professors Teresa Ghilarducci, Rick McGahey and Christian Proaño discussed the causes of the shutdown, the economic implications of increasing or not increasing the debt ceiling, and what will happen if an agreement is not reached by the deadline of October 17. The event ended with an audience Q&A. Watch the video below and check out the panelists' presentations. 

Panelists:

Teresa Ghilarducci, "Economists Agree that Defaulting is Stupid"
Chair of the Economics Department at The New School for Social Research and Director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis

Rick McGahey, "Why Congress is Allowing a Default"
Professor of Professional Practice in Public Policy and Economics and Director of Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management

Christian Proaño, "The Dire Economic Consequences of a Default"
Assistant Professor of Economics

Beginning in August and extending into the fall, I have been invited to several international conferences to discuss the United States retirement system, the need for pension reform, and the Guaranteed Retirement Account (GRA) proposal.

August 29th: Stockholm Seminar

September 25th: Allianz-Oxford Pensions Conference 2013
The goal of the Allianz-Oxford Pensions Conference is to locate opportunities for value in today's market and discuss the future of pensions. This conference is looking for innovative strategies on how to securely invest for the long-term.

November 15th: World Pension Summit 2013
The World Pension Summit 2013 seeks to foster ongoing and advanced learning for senior pension professionals specializing in pension investments and risk management.