If you are retired –or about to retire from a state or city government, your pension is at risk.  Here is a great article by Nilus Mattive, author of Dividend Superstars Newsletter.

Dead ahead: State and city pension FAILURES!

Nilus Mattive

Last week The New York Times dropped a bombshell, reporting that “policy makers are working behind the scenes to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.”

This is truly huge news, with far-reaching consequences. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise if you’ve been reading my columns …

Back in July, I explained how state pension funds around the country had essentially blown their fiduciary responsibilities to retirees and their broader constituencies.

Specifically, I wrote:

“They have been consistently underestimating how much money they’ll need down the line. In essence they are pretending that inflation doesn’t exist …

“Second, despite the major losses they actually experienced in their portfolios, they are acting as if those losses haven’t completely happened yet. Instead, they are basically just figuring that things will turn around if they wait long enough …

“And interestingly enough, when these same investors were winning big a few years ago, they put off contributing more of their current earnings into their accounts … essentially letting their profits carry the day, or even borrowing money from their accounts!

“Even today, with their balances way off what they should be, they are failing to contribute to their accounts. Some are even playing ‘shell games,’ by moving money around to make it look like they’re in better shape than they really are.

Then, this past September, I discussed some of the specific state pension plans at risk of imminent failure, along with arguments and steps legislators were employing to wiggle out of past promises.

Now, you’ll get no argument from me that many employee organizations expected — nay, demanded — far too much every time they went to the negotiating table. Yet I still place most of the blame for this impending crisis on career politicians.

Like coddling parents who never say “no” to their children, they were willing to promise anything to get elected and then to stay in office …

They were happy to ignore budgets and dole out money that wasn’t even in the kitty yet …

And they stubbornly put off pending problems, acting as if the piper would never show up asking for payment.

From capitol to capitol, it was just one big game of musical chairs. Now the needle has careened off the record with one last deafening screech.

Worse, the States Are Just One Facet of

This Massive National Pension Crisis!

Similar pension problems are emerging among U.S. cities, too — where local governments can already declare bankruptcy and, in some cases, hang pensioners out to dry.

And even in places where constitutions currently protect pensions, mounting problems at the state level may ultimately unravel — or at least sharply impact — retirement benefits at the local level.

Just take a look at the latest headlines and you’ll see just how widespread the problems are …

In New York City, pension costs have more than quadrupled in the past decade, from $1.5 billion in 2001 to $7 billion this year! That’s why Mayor Bloomberg recently echoed Governor Cuomo’s state-level battle to rein in pension costs, threatening huge layoffs unless unions accept drastic retirement reforms.

Meanwhile, in Cincinnati, lawmakers currently owe retirees about $1 billion more than they have socked away. And as this story explains, it’s a real mess.

Just some of the highlights:

* “[There are] policies that allow some workers to retire with pensions of up to 90 percent of their three highest years’ salary, guaranteed 3 percent annual increases, lifetime health coverage at negligible cost and other benefits far beyond those found in most private and public retirement plans.”

* “From 2000 to 2009, investment earnings failed in half of the years to meet an 8 percent [return] goal.”

* To solve the problems, “trustees are considering proposals to raise retirement ages, lower annual cost-of-living adjustments, shift a greater share of health costs to retirees and alter pension calculation formulas.”

Look, we’ve already seen this movie with corporate pension problems over the last decade. Countless plans failed … countless more were shuttered for current employees … and a whole mess of people lost important benefits there were counting on.

Plus, as I’ve noted in the past, the government’s backup insurance plan for these failed private plans is itself underfunded by many billions.

With these same issues appearing in cities and states from one coast to the other, a lot of folks have been asking if Washington will step in.

Well, if that New York Times article is any indication, the answer is yes — Washington may step in to LET state and local governments renege on at least some of the benefits they owe retirees!

It’s not like Uncle Sam really has a choice. In addition to owing private pensioners more than what’s in the kitty, there’s also that pesky issue of massive shortfalls in the Social Security program.

So What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a government worker or just a regular citizen … this national pension crisis is going to affect you — directly or indirectly.

It may mean a sharp decrease in your retirement benefits. Or it could reduce the public services available in your city or town. And it will almost definitely lead to higher taxes.

So I suggest you get as much information as you can on the rapidly developing state and local debt crises striking our nation … and learn how to hedge against these problems with new investments that are now available.

In addition, I consider it absolutely critical that build up your own income-generating portfolio as quickly as possible, preferably in tax-sheltered accounts.

I’m helping my own dad do this right now, because we recognize that his state pension is no more guaranteed than anyone else’s.

As the latest headlines demonstrate, past promises to retirees are no longer sacred and benefits are no longer guaranteed. So if you’ve been putting off your personal protection plan, please make it your first priority in 2011.

Best wishes,

Nilus

This investment news is brought to you by Money and Markets. Money and Markets is a free daily investment newsletter from Martin D. Weiss and Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing news and financial insights for the stock market, including tips and advice on investing in gold, energy and oil. Dr. Weiss is a leader in the fields of investing, interest rates, financial safety and economic forecasting. To view archives or subscribe, visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com.

Data just out from the National Council on Aging  show that the number of seniors looking for work has swelled more than 120% to over 1.8 million in the last year. Within that group, those who were 75 and older increased by 80 percent.

There are some 29 million seniors – those 55 and older – employed or actively looking for work in the United States, which is about 18 percent of the civilian labor force. And their numbers are expected to grow. Seniors from the early phase of the baby boom are now retiring at the rate of 14,000 per day. That number is expected to increase 12-15% by the end of 2010.

According to a story from the Reuters News services  “This economic crisis has had just a horrible impact on the entire population, but it has had a very severe impact on older people,” said Sandra Nathan, workforce development vice president at the National Council on Aging.

Nathan said her organization was seeing a record number of people seeking assistance with job training and employment. “Before people used to retire and stay retired. Now what we have are people 75 years old and older who are still in the workforce,” Nathan said.

With a national unemployment rate at 9.4 percent, the highest in more than 25 years, the odds are stacked against older Americans seeking work. An array of new or expanded programs, however, are aimed at leveling the playing field.

The U.S. government has allocated stimulus dollars to bolster programs targeted at getting older workers onto private payrolls and off of the shaky U.S. social security system. Even individuals over 75 are being encouraged to get training and job hunting help.

We are seeing this effect here at Official Geezer Guide as more and more seniors are looking for information and ways to supplement their retirement income.  Both traffic to the site and sales of Geezer Guides are up sharply.