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A Safe Pension: NOT "Good Enough for Government Work"-ers?

GAINESVILLE, Ga. / January 27, 2011 -- Government work is usually considered a sure path to a secure retirement. But as today's headlines report, the lingering impact of the financial crisis threatens the very solvency of some states. Some bankruptcy lawyers are predicting it's just a matter of time before a state seeks a bailout.

Researchers at Elliott Wave International admonish government employees to study up on the structure of their retirement plans, sponsors and penalties for liquidation, essentially preparing for the worst. Even public sector employees may want to start reviewing their retirement accounts. The following Elliott Wave forecasts were published during the crash of '07-'09 and Elliott Wave International says there are potential changes still ahead:

In Argentina… the government suspended state pension payments to 1.4 million retired state employees. It had no money to pay because times got tough, and it had never saved when times were good. The same thing could happen to many governments around the world, whether national, state or local, which pay billions of dollars annually in pensions. All of them are dependent either upon wealth transfer or upon managed funds that may or may not be properly invested.

Companies have promised billions of dollars in fixed-income pensions, but their plan assets will fall so much in value that they will have to fund those pensions with their operating budgets. How much of those liabilities will turn into debt is unknown, but the risk is large and real. The potential for exponential growth in pension turmoil is clear from the travails of the City of San Diego, where a $1 billion pension fund shortfall is finally being addressed. As more cities which have strayed into exotic and illiquid venture capital and real estate partnerships measure their obligations against their investments, the damages will rise rapidly.

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About Elliott Wave International (EWI) Based in Gainesville, Ga., EWI is the world's largest market forecasting firm that specializes in Elliott wave analysis, a form of technical analysis based on crowd psychology and pattern recognition. EWI's analysts provide around-the-clock forecasts of every major market in the world. Learn more at www.elliottwave.com.

Note to Media : For a copy of the research mentioned in this tip or to arrange an interview with an analyst from Elliott Wave International, contact Alexandra Lienhard, 770-536-0309.