California taxpayers shelled out more than $1 million to a man linked to a Chinese espionage program, making him the state government’s highest-paid worker.
Sen. Gary Peters has repeatedly agitated for a federal bailout for his home state, indirectly seeking a rescue for the pension system that pays the millionaire Michigan Democrat five figures annually. 
Staring down the coronavirus's effect on their budgets, states including New Jersey and Illinois are calling on federal leaders to backstop public pensions as part of future coronavirus relief. 
Nearly 80,000 Californians collected six-figure taxpayer-funded pensions in 2018, as retirement costs leave half the state's cities at "high risk" of serious financial distress, according to an analysis. 
California's public pension fund is facing an internal crisis over its past decisions to restrict its investments to socially conscious causes. A report from the Wall Street Journal indicates it is considering pivoting away from its socially conscious divesting to address its increasing budget crisis. 
One of the nation's largest union pension funds plans on cutting retirement benefits by 40 percent moving forward despite its overall fiscal health. 
An audit shows that more than half of Illinois' 656 local pension funds for police and firefighters haven't been examined as frequently as state law requires even as some lawmakers want to allow for less frequent pension audits. 
The city of New York has agreed to pay $20.8 million to settle federal charges for discriminating against registered nurses and midwives because they are women. 
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is pushing lawmakers to preserve retirement security as the nation's pension system continues to teeter toward crisis. 
Unfunded liabilities of state public pension plans now tops $6 trillion, an increase of $433 billion from the previous year, according to a report from the American Legislative Exchange Council. 