PERS of Mississippi 2018 Annual Financial Report
Mississippi’s pension system for state, county and municipal employees is slowly gaining fiscal ground, but it’s not fast enough to keep up with the coming demographic landslide of retirements.
Read MoreWhy Does It Flood When Levees Don’t Break? And Other Questions. Part 2
BPF’s Q&A two part series on MS River Flooding
Read MoreBPF Article Featured in The Woodville Republican – January 2019
BPF was featured in the Woodville Republican with a full page dedicated to Kelley Williams’ article on MS River Flooding.
Read MorePERS COLA WAR
When people normally think of a COLA, they think of a refreshing, bubbly and sweet beverage that goes great with a hamburger and fries. But in the world of public pensions, COLA is only sweet for the retiree. The overly generous and unsustainable COLA (cost of living adjustment) is one of the key factors on why the Public Employees’ Retirement System or PERS continues to struggle financially.
Read MoreMRPEA – Mississippi Retired Public Employees’ Association Opposes Changes to PERS Despite Struggling Fund
The Mississippi Retired Public Employees’ Association has made its position clear in regard to the state’s defined benefit pension system that serves most state and local employees. The pension system is not to be touched.
Read MoreWhy Does It Flood When Levees Don’t Break? And Other Questions. Part 1
BPF’s Q&A two part series on MS River Flooding
Read MoreCongressional Record on Old River Control Structure
A report on the structure and operations plan for the Old River Control Structure authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1954 is to be submitted with opportunity for public input and stakeholder engagement, including public meetings.
Read MoreReport by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems
For the 2017 fiscal year, employer and member contributions were $1.6 billion, a decrease of $4.7 million. The decrease is attributed to a decline in active members. For the 2017 fiscal year, benefit payments amounted to $2.5 billion, an increase of $110.2 million (4.7 percent) over the 2016 fiscal year. The increase in benefit payments was due to an increase in the number of benefit recipients.
Read MoreFlood Control and Insanity
The Mississippi River is usually low in the fall. But it reached 42 feet at Natchez this month and flooded unharvested crops. It has risen steadily since the 1950’s when the highest fall crest was 28 feet.
Read MoreMS PERS – Deep in the Red
The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi, better known as PERS, is the state’s ailing defined benefit pension program. Right now, the fund has a $16.6 billion unfunded liability, meaning the contributions of state and municipal employees and income from the plan’s investments aren’t enough to cover present and future benefits for retirees.
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