Uh oh, $ 28.5 Million Deficit?

[freescooter]

I agree with you on the first point, but that is the fault of management, not employees. I'm not so sure about the second point, though. that is somewhat overblown I think in that once you're vested you can still get the money when you retire. and I suspect the cost of requiring individuals to essentially manage their own retirement, something they are generally ill prepared to do, poorly educated and lack entirely the time and ability to make really rational investment decisions, is at least equally suboptimal. given the potetnial long term societal costs, it might be worse.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I agree with you on the first point, but that is the fault of management, not employees. I'm not so sure about the second point, though. that is somewhat overblown I think in that once you're vested you can still get the money when you retire. and I suspect the cost of requiring individuals to essentially manage their own retirement, something they are generally ill prepared to do, poorly educated and lack entirely the time and ability to make really rational investment decisions, is at least equally suboptimal. given the potetnial long term societal costs, it might be worse.

Yeah - but communism doesn't work, because people like to own things. -Frank Zappa

 

[noeynox]

If you look at a list of the people collecting the biggest pensions in the state, almost all of the have ties to UConn/UConn Health Center. State workers get raked over the coals over their pensions, but truth is most collect a fraction of what the retired uconn profs get.

 

[Palatine]

Democrats and unions. Maybe they can do for UConn what they did for Detroit.

 

[Carl Spackler]

If you look at a list of the people collecting the biggest pensions in the state, almost all of the have ties to UConn/UConn Health Center. State workers get raked over the coals over their pensions, but truth is most collect a fraction of what the retired uconn profs get.

Revamping the health center, was the first thing that the new administration went after. One can only hope that future retirement issues have been a big part of what when on with the restructuring there. As for the profs......there's nothing quite like being tenured - nothing like it exists in the world outside of academia. it's good to be tenured, and have control over your own financial decisions.

The pension funds though, extend way beyond UCONN though. The state ahs big issues with the teacher's pension system they've set up because of the teacher's unions.

 

[hthusky74]

Democrats and unions. Maybe they can do for UConn what they did for Detroit.

They are doing their bests! LOL

 

[upstater]

Sounds like its time to raise tuition 7%. Underfunded pensions (and generous pensions) are the legacy of coy leadership over the past 30 years regardless of political affiliation. I'm glad to see they are beginning to tackle the issue. The burden will likely be similar next year, so look for that tuition to rise. If we are going to give out generous benefits, it costs money.

The article clearly states that the state shifted the burden to the schools.

 

[upstater]

Ok folks -

please find in this document, where a hit like this to UCONN - was unexpected?

please find reference in this document to athletic department revenue.

http://www.finance.uconn.edu/BOT/6.26.13/Slides.pdf


This is a non-issue for athletics.

You are so easily fooled

The $1 billion budget is not fungible.

The vast majority of it is dedicated. Look at research alone in the range of $200-300 million. Then the hospital. Put those together, and what do you have?

$10 million is a huge amount of money for a university like UConn.

 

[junglehusky]

Democrats and unions. Maybe they can do for UConn what they did for Detroit.

Yes, because the quality of life is sooo much better in right-to-work states.

 

[metsfan2323]

Democrats and unions. Maybe they can do for UConn what they did for Detroit.

Lame.

The school owes its existence to socialism.

The Rent exists because of socialism, and don't tell me UTC donated the land, UTC feeds off of the Federal Government.

You must have hated the UCONN 2000 project, all that spending of taxpayer money.

Extreme right wingers should root for a private school, like Syracuse.

 

[BlueMAB]

Yes, because the quality of life is sooo much better in right-to-work states.

Say what you want about the south (right to work states), nobody retires and moves up north.

I grew up with a lot of people from CT who have moved to FL, TX, NC, GA, and SC. They love the quality of life and aren't ever moving back to CT.

CT is aging, has one of the worst brain drains in the country, and has a shrinking middle class due to the college grads leaving the state. When the largest employer in the state, is the state, you're doing it wrong.

 

[BlueMAB]

Lame.

The school owes its existence to socialism.

The Rent exists because of socialism, and don't tell me UTC donated the land, UTC feeds off of the Federal Government.

You must have hated the UCONN 200o project, all that spending of taxpayer money.

Extreme right wingers should root for a private school, like Syracuse.

You obviously don't what understand socialism is. If this is what UConn professors are passing off as socialism, it's no wonder the useful idiots are multiplying exponentially on college campuses.

 

[Skiblets]

Susan hired McKinsey a while back to come up with restructuring ideas. They came forth with a lot of good ones. But she and her deans did not execute. (intentional play on words) This is her first real black eye IMO and shows that she has not completely reined in the asylum yet.

 

[Carl Spackler]

UCONN and Rentschler field exist because of socialism???? Holy crap.

Who knew.

 

[metsfan2323]

http://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2012/04/19/education/ayn-rand-world-public-schools/

Today, The Ayn Rand Institute says volumes about public schools (and colleges anduniversities), and why free citizens should abolish them.

 

[Carl Spackler]

You are so easily fooled

The $1 billion budget is not fungible.

The vast majority of it is dedicated. Look at research alone in the range of $200-300 million. Then the hospital. Put those together, and what do you have?

$10 million is a huge amount of money for a university like UConn.

I know this. $10 mill in unallocated cash is a huge amount of money for anyone, any institution.

The concept here, is that the athletic department is going to get hurt somehow by UCONN draining out reserves to balance next year's budget based on pension funding, and I don't think so. The school is going to get hurt before the athletic department, and that's where I think rumrunner?'s point was - if the athletic department is feeling anything, the academics tend to get restless.

Unless the state is directly providing revenue to the athletic department, and not funneled through the university (and I don't know if this is case or not) the argument centers on how much actual cash flow year to year in actuality, not just accounting on paper, actually flows from the university structure outside athletics, into the athletic department and is counted as athletic department revenue in the athletic budgets. I don't know what that is, and I'm sure it's closely guarded bit of budget information.

University general funds. University tuition and fees. Scholarship funds., etc. etc.......there are lots of ways to hide, and find money on paper, that have nothing to do with actual cash flow.

I think that Herbst's pushing for spending is going get looked at a lot more critically from here on out though, because this thing, is an actual cash flow, not a paper trail of investments and returns. It's nice to have a cash reserve fund for hiccups and bumps in the road, whether it be a few hundred dollars for a family of four stuck away in an account somewhere earning interest and growing, and used only in case of emergency, while you contribute to it a little bit regularly, or 70 million stuck away for a state university somewhere, earening interest, and growing and used only in case of emergency, while you contribute to it a little bit regularly.

THere's nothing wrong with drawing from a reserve account to get through bumps and valleys in the road - I don't care about that - I'm more concerned with how they intend to balance the budget in the future, and on top of it, pay back the kitty.

I don't know how you can justify raising tuition again, more than what's already been done and planned. Cuts are going to have to be made.

 

[Carl Spackler]

FWIW - I'm a public school product from kindergarten through my degrees. I don't agree at all with that Ayn Rand crap.

 

[mattp]

The elimination of pensions has been one of the worst public policy debacles of the past 25 years. And it will ultimately have huge negative consequences. Oddly it grew out of a good idea, giving people without access to pensions an opportunity to save for retirement. The finacial meltdown demonstrated how difficult the impact could be, with people seeing IRAs and 401k's losing 40% of their value at times. Fortunately, that occurred before the baby boomers started retiring in droves. Something similar happens in the next decade and it will be disasterous.

Wrong and wrong. Having companies/governments bear all of the risk of pensions is why many are going out of business. The 401k benefits the employer by taking the risk off of their books. It benefits the employee because they are now free to take whatever job they want. 30 years ago employees were beholden to their employer or risk losing their pension. I can take my 401k to any company I want. Plus I have an asset that I can leave to my heirs. People need to take responsibility for themselves because the government isn't equipped to take care of everyone. Also anyone that saw their 401k drop 40% also saw it recover over the next two years or so.

 

[hthusky74]

Say what you want about the south (right to work states), nobody retires and moves up north.

I grew up with a lot of people from CT who have moved to FL, TX, NC, GA, and SC. They love the quality of life and aren't ever moving back to CT.

CT is aging, has one of the worst brain drains in the country, and has a shrinking middle class due to the college grads leaving the state. When the largest employer in the state, is the state, you're doing it wrong.

Don't forget TN. I know two couples who have moved in the area midway between Knoxville and Nashville. It has become a big retirement area. Low taxes too.

 

[hthusky74]

Wrong and wrong. Having companies/governments bear all of the risk of pensions is why many are going out of business. The 401k benefits the employer by taking the risk off of their books. It benefits the employee because they are now free to take whatever job they want. 30 years ago employees were beholden to their employer or risk losing their pension. I can take my 401k to any company I want. Plus I have an asset that I can leave to my heirs. People need to take responsibility for themselves because the government isn't equipped to take care of everyone. Also anyone that saw their 401k drop 40% also saw it recover over the next two years or so.

The fact that there will be almost no 25 year with one firm employees in the future is why a pension has become a moot point for them. The new employee is conditioned to go for the highest bidder on a regular basis. There is more to that than just money. There no longer is any job security. Companies move work off-shore or hire off-shore contractors to staff the jobs here. No loyalty from the employer means none from the employee. Everyone goes for the short term bucks. It is a bad situation. Big time brain drains.

 

[J187Money]

Susan hired McKinsey a while back to come up with restructuring ideas. They came forth with a lot of good ones. But she and her deans did not execute. (intentional play on words) This is her first real black eye IMO and shows that she has not completely reined in the asylum yet.

It's like moving a glacier.

 

[Exit 4]

The article clearly states that the state shifted the burden to the schools.

not sure your point....all i am saying is this is just the beginning and its the right thing. push the burden back to the students.

 

[Exit 4]

Yes, because the quality of life is sooo much better in right-to-work states.

fair point....lets see where everything stands in another ten years. the unfunded liabilities in many of the northern - union states is reaching that tipping point we have seen coming for a while now....when the obligation to fund past retirement and medical promises begins to truly drown and limit the ability of the government and present tax payer to meet current needs. I am cheering for CT and the north, but its going to be tough sledding. We've got smart people...but many continue to move elsewhere when they become job creators.

 

[Exit 4]

Right. My comment was really dealing with the idea that the state should move away from defined benefits pensions. While I agree that "everyone is doing it" i also think, and there is some research backing this up, that the move away from pensions to IRAs was a bad policy, and will have negative long term consequences. Whether the state should contribute to bad policy is a legitimate subject of debate.

love to see pensions stay, but its pretty well demonstarted that if we are going to have open borders for commerce and a generally a free flowing gloabl economy ,pensions arent possible but for one class of worker - government workers - because of that natural monopolistic nature of their services and funded source - tax payers. every private enterprise has to deal with start ups who dont offer pensions and off shoring at various capacities which also dont have pensions and therefore, as much as they would like to have them, they really cant. the few that are left dont offer them to young people.

 

[hthusky74]

fair point....lets see where everything stands in another ten years. the unfunded liabilities in many of the northern - union states is reaching that tipping point we have seen coming for a while now....when the obligation to fund past retirement and medical promises begins to truly drown and limit the ability of the government and present tax payer to meet current needs. I am cheering for CT and the north, but its going to be tough sledding. We've got smart people...but many continue to move elsewhere when they become job creators.

As the old cliche goes, socialism is a great system until you run out of people to tax.