Retirement

An agreement has been reached between striking Vermont teachers and school administrators in the Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union, bringing a six-day strike to a close.

Hundreds of active and retired teachers and other school employees crowded into a Senate hearing Wednesday to voice concerns that proposed changes to their retirement benefits would unfairly push more costs onto them and even drive some out of education.

The South Dakota Legislature acted legally when it trimmed the annual cost-of-living increase for retirees in the state's public pension plan during the recent economic crisis, a state judge ruled Wednesday.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer proposed an aggressive public pension fix Tuesday, a plan that comes as he nears the end of his term and one that faces a very uncertain future when it goes to his successor and the Legislature next year for potential implementation.

Cases of dementia and the heavy social and financial burdens associated with them are set to soar in the coming decades as life expectancy and medical care improve in poorer countries, the World Health Organization says.

Hospital operator Tenet Healthcare will pay $42.8 million to resolve allegations it over billed Medicare for the treatment of patients who needed intense inpatient rehabilitation.