Letter Re: Many Pension Funds are Doomed

Jim:
The following article is one example of why “dot gov” will basically collapse, at every level. The threat is faced by teachers and all public service employees et cetera. All of their “retirements” are doomed.

Fort Worth pension bubble will blow up in our faces

You don’t have to be an actuary to know that this pension plan will end badly. The technical phrase is “trending toward insolvency.”

The key problem is that the city is on the hook for all the promised benefits. Taxpayers will have to pony up hefty contributions for years, even generations, and the city may have to cut services to afford it. The pension for city employees is currently projected to pay out $432 million more than it brings in over the next 30 years. – K.T.

JWR Replies: I concur. Coincidentally, SurvivalBlog reader Jon A. in New York recently sent me this: DiNapoli: Local governments face huge jump in pension costs. Jon’s comment was: “I truly believe this is where the unrest will come from in this country: pensioners and/or welfare recipients ultimately receiving less than what they expected from the government.” Meanwhile, we read: President Obama Plans to Cut Social Security Next. The bottom line: Plan your own retirement, and as part of that, have a component that is heavy into tangibles. This will be your “fire insurance” against a collapse in the U.S. Dollar as a currency unit.