Phoenix Curbing Pensions Produces Lowest Bond Cost
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Investors are driving Phoenix’s financing costs to an eight-month low as officials move to curb a pension burden that one councilman said has Arizona’s largest city on the path to insolvency.
Voters this year raised the retirement age for public workers and their pension contributions in changes projected to save $600 million over 25 years for the sixth-largest U.S. city. A council committee this week recommended limiting a practice, known as pension spiking, that allows employees to increase retirement benefits through perks such as pay for unused vacation and sick time.