SACRAMENTO — It feels a little surreal to be writing about benefits from the capital of one of the most fiscally dismal states in the union. In fact, this morning's Sacramento Bee featured a report from the state's two public pension funds. Seems they both raked in a combined $60 million over the last fiscal year, their best performance in decades.

But the better-than-20 percent return, certainly nothing to sneeze at, isn't nearly enough to prevent the public retirement plans from remaining woefully underfunded. (And you can forget about asking for a great contribution from public employees. We all know how that turns out.)

Despite that black cloud looming in the background like some kind of catastrophic debt ceiling, the mood here at the BenefitsConnect Summit is decidedly upbeat. Hell, it's downright bullish — among brokers and carriers alike.