Earnings at state-administered pension systems remained in positive territory in 2012 for the third consecutive year since the Great Recession. Thats the good news. Read on for the bad.

The think tank says the proposed rule make sense, "given the risks defined contribution plan participants face."

The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a preliminary injunction against two Lexington, Ky.-based pension plan fiduciaries for allegedly using nearly $40 million of retirement funds as their own personal bank account.

The U.S. Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission have renewed their agreement to share information on retirement and investment matters.

Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that go into effect Sept. 9 have many pension funds concerned, perhaps unnecessarily.

Experts say the best way for cities and states to get out from under crippling pension debt is to close their pension plans to new hires and move employees to lower-cost defined contribution plans. But there are additional ways to fix the problem.

The SPARK Institute says it supports the concept of voluntary lifetime income illustrations being provided to retirement plan participants, but disagrees with forcing companies to offer this information in just one way.

It says it's worried the rule proposes a "highly standardized approach."