Californias public retirement fund holds so much power over local officials that pension bond investors cant expect equal treatment when a city goes bankrupt, a judge said in a ruling that she acknowledged seems unfair.

Rising interest rates lowered corporate pension liability estimates in April, improving the average funding rate to 90.1 percent, a 2.9 percent increase.

Less than one-half of the very substantial private equity costs to public pension funds are being disclosed.

States and localities have shortchanged their retirement plans while services such as schools and crumbling infrastructure scream for resources.