New Hampshire's retirement system for public employees is seriously underfunded, and lawmakers are trying to reform it, tackling tough structural issues that many say should have been tackled long ago. We’ll look at the two competing reform measures and their impact on retirees and taxpayers.

Guests

Lauren Dorgan, House reporter for the Concord Monitor
Jay Ward, political director for the Service Employees International Union, Local 1984
Lisa Shapiro, Board Chairman for the New Hampshire Retirement System and chief economist for Gallagher, Callahan and Gartrell

We'll also hear from

Dean Michner, director of governmental affairs at the New Hampshire Boards Association
David Lang, president of the Professional Fire Fighters Association of New Hampshire and fire fighter in Hampton for 28 years

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Retirees Fear Changes to Pension System

By Dan Gorenstein on Wednesday, March 12, 2008.

New Hampshire’s pension system for public employees is in trouble.

There’s a 2.7 billion dollar gap between how much money the system has and how much it needs to have over the next 30 years.

Currently, it’s ranked near the bottom of public pension systems nationwide.

Lawmakers, employers and employees are debating the best way to shore the whole thing up.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein has the story on how proposed legislation could affect the people who count on the pension system.

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Special Panel Tells Lawmakers About Problems With the State's Retirement System

By David Darman on Thursday, January 3, 2008.

The leaders of a special panel that reviewed the state’s pension system say the retirement benefit as a whole is already on the road to recovery.

But they also told the House Finance Committee that the retiree medical benefit system is in much worse shape.

They reported things are so bad that teachers and local government employees who don’t retire by this July will no longer be eligible for medical coverage.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s David Darman has more.

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Many Public Employees Consider Retiring Early

By David Darman on Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Many public employees across the state who are nearing retirement age are thinking about retiring early.

Theyâ€™re worried about the future of the stateâ€™s pension system.

New Hampshire Public Radioâ€™s David Darman has more.

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Many Parties Float Solutions for NH Retirement Shortfall

By David Darman on Monday, March 19, 2007.

State Lawmakers, local government officials, public employees of all sorts and retirees have been meeting in Concord to fix the state's pension system.

By most accounts, the system is millions of dollars short of where it should be.

And while those involved share concerns, they differ on their prescriptions for a solution.

New Hampshire Public Radio's David Darman has more.

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Problems with Pensions

By Laura Knoy on Monday, November 14, 2005.

The traditional corporate pension â€“ company funded, guaranteed at retirementâ€¦.seems heading for extinction â€“ due to cutthroat competition, downsizing, corporate bankruptciesâ€¦and â€“ laws encouraging other, cheaper and more flexible alternatives. Weâ€™ll ask â€œWhat ever happened to the Pensionâ€â€¦and whatâ€™s taking its place. Laura's guest is Colin Blaydon, William and Josephine Buchanan Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and Director of the Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship.

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