Maintaining a strong economy and a healthy business climate is an important duty for elected and public officials, and keeping a balance between regulating business practices and letting business run freely is often tricky. States that have been trying to keep non-financial environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors out of investment decisions have been grappling…
While most headlines about regulating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investments have focused on public pensions and public finance, a recent federal ruling from Texas has thrown private-sector retirement plans into the discussion. An American Airlines employee sued the company, contending it violated its fiduciary duties by hiring investment firms with “ESG objectives”…
Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier was joined by other state leaders in raising alarm bells over House Bill 80 – legislation that would prohibit investment firms accused of considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors from investing state funds. Members of Wyoming’s House Minerals Business and Economic Development Committee encountered a “wall of opposition” due…
After a surge in anti-ESG (environmental, social, and governance) legislation occurred in 2023, an overview from the Ropes and Gray law firm showed a drop-off in lawmaking in 2024, and an increase in litigation over the issue. “This decline [in legislation] might come as a surprise, given that the initiatives motivating last year’s wave of…
Roughly 2.5 million public-sector workers started 2025 with great and long-awaited news that two laws limiting their Social Security benefits have been repealed. Passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden, the Social Security Fairness Act, repealing the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The first bill reduced benefits for some…
With the 2025 state legislative sessions looming, Wyoming is now added to the list of states that are apparently willing to burden taxpayers and retirees simply to score political points. On January 2, the “Stop ESG-State funds fiduciary act”, was filed in the Wyoming House of Representatives. Like legislation in other states, WY House Bill…
With the new year looming, it’s good to stay informed about some upcoming tax and social security changes that will come in 2025. Of note, the IRS increased the amount people can contribute to their 401(k) plans in 2025 from $23,000 to $23,500. That also applies to 403(b), 457, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings…
Index funds are wildly popular with retirees and people investing in their future retirement. Instead of picking individual stocks, investors can choose blocks of stocks — like the whole S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the top 100 companies in NASDAQ, and so on — avoiding some of the volatility of individual stocks while…
The Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement (APSR) is happy to welcome seven new members that joined the coalition during the past several weeks. These new members include: They join APSR’s growing ranks of groups that represent a number of different perspectives in the retirement discussion, including state employees across the U.S. who depend…
With the elections behind us and the end of 2024 just a few weeks away, new risks of political interference in public pension investing and retirement security are coming into focus. Some newly elected state officials are redoubling their efforts to blacklist investment advisers they accuse of injecting non-financial factors into their decisions about pensions…
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