Source: National Conference on Public Employee Retirement System, May 2016
Pension funds are the great stabilizers of our economy. When individual investors run for the door during market downturns, pension funds are there to stay. They are long-term investors and remain in the market for the long haul. This provides financial and economic stability that is needed for economic prosperity….. Pensioners keep receiving their pension check in good as well as bad economic times. While incomes from jobs and investments decline during bad economic times, pension checks provide an economic cushion and keep local economies afloat. Unfortunately, we have been steadily dismantling pensions and hence undermining this economic cushion, increasing economic volatility as a result. Prevailing pension reforms increase economic volatility in another way. They contribute to the formation and bursting of asset bubbles……