They don't have no value, but I would much prefer that they just put their contribution into my portable 401k/403b plan.
It's better for the taxpayers/shareholders as well since currently there is a pretty strong incentive for politicians (or company executives) to make longterm promises that will be hard to keep. The person making the promise will be long gone before the bill comes due.
Pensions made sense for a brief window when it was common for people to work for the same company for most of their career.
They are a ridiculous anachronism in the current world.
It's better for the taxpayers/shareholders as well since currently there is a pretty strong incentive for politicians (or company executives) to make longterm promises that will be hard to keep. The person making the promise will be long gone before the bill comes due.
Pensions made sense for a brief window when it was common for people to work for the same company for most of their career.
They are a ridiculous anachronism in the current world.
Who's sure? But reducing pensions for already retired employees would require more than politicians' expedience, since there is an issue of contract law involved, as well as in several states a constitutional requirement that the pensions must be paid. You can imagine the states' defaults happening, nonetheless, but does the possibility really justify saying that state DB pensions have no value when the system is not fully funded? And don't forget that our politicians are still elected, and pensioners vote.