Public pensions  not ready to retire  Public pension systems
like New York’s are under fire from those who say defined
benefit programs are unaffordable relics of the past. But Beth
Almeida of The National Institute on Retirement Security writes
that they’re actually a good deal for everyone.  Categories:
Pensions/Retirement Jay Jochnowitz  2 Responses    1. JG says:
Good article that makes plenty of sense, and save some cents and
dollars as well.    2. Mao Tse Browne says:      The best
approach is for the State of NY to rid itself of as much of the
public pension debt as possible. One way would be for the
Legislature to pass a law that would allow each government unit
to “buy out” both retirees and present workers, by offering them
a cash settlement, in exchange for their pension. The individual
could then reinvest that money in an IRA, etc..      The value
of each pension would be determined actuarially and then the
individual would receive a percentage of the actuarial value (50
cents on the dollar,