R.I. pension system cleared by the SEC

GENERAL TREASURER GINA M. RAIMONDO announced Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission will not take any action follow its investigation into the disclosures and statements of state's pension system.  / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/SCOTT EELLS
GENERAL TREASURER GINA M. RAIMONDO announced Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission will not take any action follow its investigation into the disclosures and statements of state's pension system. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/SCOTT EELLS

PROVIDENCE – The Securities and Exchange Commission will not take any action following its investigation of the Rhode Island pension system’s disclosures and statements, General Treasurer Gina M. Raimondo announced Tuesday.
“Our pension practices are transparent, our disclosure is accurate, and our pension system is on a firm foundation,” Raimondo said in a statement. “Any cloud that lingered over our pension disclosure is gone. Our public employees and retirees should have greater peace of mind today.”
The investigation began in early 2011 and examined the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island’s pension finance disclosures and statements from 2007 till 2011, when Raimondo’s term began. During the course of the investigation the state enacted various pension reform measures.
Addressing the decision not to initiate enforcement action, Paul Mac, a partner at Bracewell & Giuliani said, “The SEC, as a matter of policy, will not explain its reasoning. From my perspective, several factors may have been influential. Treasurer Raimondo’s Truth in Numbers initiative, combined with adding an overall robust commitment to state of the art financial disclosure, training, and best practices to existing good disclosure, plus decisive legislative action on pension reform, all likely influenced the SEC’s decision to end its investigation of the State.”

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  1. I wonder what that guy Siedel is going to say now. He was hired by the unions to look into all of this. He’ll probably come to a totally different conclusion, since he’s being paid by people who are clearly opposed to pension reform.