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Dear friends and
neighbors,
from Nov 29 Newsletter...
Why "Blue Time"
twice a day?
Appreciation to Ann, a newsletter reader who
explained the "blue" phenomena:
Its a phenomenon where the
perceived brightness of colors changes as the light level changes,
causing blue-green colors to appear brighter than red-yellow colors
in low light. This occurs because, as vision shifts from cone cells
(for bright light) to rod cells (for low light), the eye's
sensitivity shifts towards the blue-green end of the spectrum. The
effect was discovered by Jan
Evangelista Purkyně in 1819 when he observed that his favorite red
flowers appeared dark at dawn, while the green leaves looked
brighter.
This is so interesting!
Thanks, Ann!
Retirement - 401K-like or
Pension
HB
78 and
SB
28
both propose a practical, balanced and new pension plan for public
employees in Alaska. That's for teachers, police officers, fire
fighters, government department workers, etc. It would apply on
both state and local government levels.
We believe it will not
only really help our meager recruitment results but also retain the
experienced, trained staff that we need.
The actuary that works
for the Retirement Board has stated that this is a uniquely well
done pension proposal that has almost no likelihood of becoming
underfunded. HB 78/SB 28 are designed to remain fully funded,
utilizing policies used in other well-funded state pension
programs.
Reminder: only in Alaska
do public teachers NOT have social security enrollment.
Retirement is becoming a
key issue for employers and employees alike.
The
retirement crisis is here. Axios
Out-of-pocket
medical expenses are escalating, the cost of in-home
care is
growing more than three times faster than inflation, and an
increasing share of the elderly are spending more than a third of
their income on real estate. "We kind of took care of the
Greatest Generation" in terms of broad planning for a
structured retirement, Teresa Ghilarducci, an economist at the New
School for Social Research and leading retirement researcher. But
the younger generations have had much less support.
Gen
Z places retirement hopes in stocks. Axios
Young Americans are
increasingly planning for retirement by investing in the stock
market while putting off homeownership. For decades,
owning a home has helped many Americans build their nest eggs. A
generation putting all its eggs into stocks without having
weathered a prolonged market slump may be in for a surprise.
Pensions
aren't dead yet: "Our fight's not even close to being
finished". Axios
In 1980, 46% of
private-sector workers were covered by a pension plan, according to the Georgetown
University Law Center. By 2023, that was down to 11%, according to the Pension
Rights Center. IBM "shocked the retirement world" in late
2023 by relaunching a version of a defined-benefit pension, according to the National
Institute on Retirement Security.
How
to Save (for) your Retirement. Axios
Medical expenses are one
of the biggest expenses in retirement. Most experts say to keep
working if you can. When you continue your job past full
retirement age, your Social Security benefit increases by about
7% annually when you do retire. The annual increase stops at
age 70.
Your
Social Security questions, answered. Axios
There's a reason state
government pensions, as well as many other nations' public
retirement plans, invest in stocks, corporate bonds, real estate,
and other assets with higher returns. It's probably too
late for the U.S. government to adopt the same strategy. The Social
Security Trust Fund is in a rapid drawdown phase, on track to
decline from around $2.5 trillion currently to zero in 2033.
Alaskan Students Welcome
to Apply for 2026 Internships
At the Alaska Permanent
Fund Corporation (APFC), managing one of the largest sovereign
wealth Funds in the country means thinking long-term about capital,
risk, and people. Our internship program reflects the same
commitment to Alaskan students, developing leaders to carry
Alaska’s financial legacy forward.
At APFC, interns
participate in real projects, collaborate across teams, and gain
insight into the operations of a globally diversified Fund that
manages more than $84 billion on behalf of Alaskans.
Whether analyzing
markets, contributing to research, or working closely with our
partners, interns gain invaluable exposure to institutional
practices, and many stay connected to the Corporation long after
the program ends.
Read
more HERE
Learn more about the
program: Read
the Internship Overview
View current internship
openings: Go
to APFC Careers
Permanent Fund's latest values and earning
at end of this newsletter, in Alaska Resources Value section.
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