Comments
Dear NCPERS Members:
As a community, public pensions have come to understand that there are some journalists who will never give us a fair shake. Nevertheless, I found Mary Williams Walsh's of The New York Times latest column to be jaw-droppingly crass. ("Coronavirus Is Making the Public Pension Crisis Even Worse," April 2, 2020).
It takes a certain kind of nerve-chutzpah, some would call it-to launch such an attack in the middle of a crisis, when people are dead and dying and nations are spending tens of trillions of dollars to beat back a pandemic. If Walsh's only contribution is to report on the trumped-up "crisis" within public pensions, readers of The New York Times deserve better. We all do.
While we aren't in charge of that decision, but we have let the editors know our opinion. Our Letter to the Editor we submitted on April 2 is reprinted below. If it isn't published by April 6, we will post it as a comment and I hope all NCPERS members will "recommend" our comment.
April 2, 2020
To the Editor:
While I'm hard pressed to think of a single time Mary Williams Walsh has ever published a balanced, let alone positive, thought on public pensions, her latest column is jaw-droppingly crass. ("Coronavirus Is Making the Public Pension Crisis Even Worse," April 2, 2020) In the middle of a crisis, when people are dead and dying and nations are spending tens of trillions of dollars to beat back a pandemic, her contribution to the public discourse is that the public pension sky is falling.
News flash: Governments and businesses are working frantically against a health threat no one yet fully understands while tirelessly endeavoring to stabilize the global economy. In the midst of it, however, public pensions continue to do our part. Pension systems are issuing checks as they always do, providing stable income to retirees, powering spending in communities, and providing revenue to governments. They are a source of calm and confidence in the midst of chaos. All this is happening at a time when the stability that pensions provide is in woefully short supply.
The very essence of public pensions is long-term thinking. Pensions are in it for the long haul. For a more than 150 years, public pensions have steadily delivered modest but reliable retirement income to millions of dedicated public servants like the nurses, doctors, and EMS personnel who are on the coronavirus frontlines. Pensions have withstood and rebounded from crisis after crisis. Their focus right now is on helping members through the turmoil and delivering on their promises.
If Ms. Walsh's contribution is to report on the trumped-up "crisis" within public pensions, maybe she should take a breath and save precious space in The New York Times for truly valuable reporting on the coronavirus crisis.
Respectfully,
Hank H. Kim
Executive Director and Counsel
National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems
Washington, D.C.
[email protected]
202-624-1458
March 18, 2020
Members,
As you have seen on TV, COVID-19 has caused quite a bit of volatility in the stock market. Your Board of Trustees and Staff is monitoring the markets diligently. This is not the first time the market has turned downward and there were lessons learned from 2009. What was learned from the Great Financial Crisis in 2009 was diversification is king. Your Pension Fund is well diversified to ride these kind of market conditions. Of course, during these times when everything is down the Fund will be down but with our conservative investing approach, we are well prepared to ride this storm. Pension payments will go out monthly as always.
We have been on a 12-year bull market and the bear was bound to rear his ugly head. When the market turns positive again, and it will, your Fund will capture those returns and earn back what was lost in 2020. I have no doubt that your trustee’s diligence in picking experienced and professional investment managers will pay off. This is why your trustee’s and staff spend so much time and effort doing their due diligence when picking and monitoring your managers.
To place it in perspective, 10 year ago during the last crisis your Fund was worth approximately $800 million dollars. Over the last 10 years your Fund paid out roughly $700 million to retirees and as of December 31, 2019 the Fund was worth $1.6 billion. Your investment managers did their job and put this Fund on solid ground.
We will get through this and come out on the other side stronger and wiser. Thank you for your confidence in the Board of Trustees and Staff. Stay safe and please enroll in our self-service portal where you can accomplish many changes to your account straight from your home computer.
www.elpasofireandpolice.org
Thank you,
Tyler Grossman
Executive Director/CIO
El Paso Firemen & Policemen’s Pension Fund
March 16, 2020
Members,
Given the events of the last month reference COVID-19 your Pension Fund office has taken steps to ensure it stays running for our active and retired members. Below is an update on what we are doing and how we are preparing for anything that happens. First and foremost, your staff is fine and operations are running as normal.
We have set up secure access for your staff to work from home in order to accomplish their job if need be. This assures that no member goes without being paid. It also allows us to handle our work load and monitor investments.
Working from home is for the worst-case scenario. For our current situation, staff has been advised to allow access to only those persons necessary for operations. Benefit Specialists will not be taking appointments but will be handling all services over the phone, email, and docusign. This will mean there will be no access to the facility by any member. Allowing members to handle items virtually which normally required personal contact will hopefully expedite the process so they can stay on the front lines where they are needed.
Staff have been advised to stay home if feeling ill and wash their hands every time they enter the building. They will use the phone or intercom as much as possible with each other as well. We will also be sanitizing door handles and items after work hours.
Thank you for your service and understanding if there is not a staff member you can meet in person during these times. As soon as normal business can resume, we will advise. Stay safe out there and your staff will keep your Fund safe.
Thank you,
Tyler Grossman
Executive Director
El Paso Firemen & Policemen’s Pension Fund
