www.thecentersquare.com – By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-02-20 18:01:00
(The Center Square) – While the pension plan for North Carolina state employees remains underfunded, the same can’t be said for a separate, voluntary 401(k) style programs for public employees, according to a report Thursday.
There are 294,625 employees enrolled in NC 401(k) Plan, and another 57,413 in the NC 457 Plan. Both plans are designed to supplement public pensions. State Treasurer Brad Briner chairs the board that oversees the two programs.
Briner has expressed concern that the state’s pension plans are underfunded by about $16 billion and rank near the bottom nationally in investment performance.
However, the 401(k) and 457 programs are “among the largest and lowest-cost public plans in the country,” the treasurer’s office said in a release.
The 401(k) plan allow public employees to make contributions with pretax payroll deductions. The 457 plan, also through payroll deductions, is a deferred compensation program.
Michael McCann, managing director of Empower, which manages the North Carolina plans, provided an upbeat report to the state’s Supplemental Retirement Board of Trustees.
“From a plan health perspective, everything is looking really good in terms of the trend line,” McCann told the board. “Average participant balances are continuing to increase. The active participation rate is above its historical norm. The active average employee deferral continues to set higher and higher trends in terms of what participants are contributing.”
Even with an aging population and increased retirements, the plans continue to grow, McCann added.
“We’re also replenishing that population, where total unique participant balances continue to increase,” he said. “Last year, was our second best year ever, beating 2023 in terms of total enrollment.”
Another sign of stability of the plans is loan activity – participants borrowing from their accounts – remained consistent in 2024, despite the heavy damage from Hurricane Helene in the western part of the state.
About 2,000 plan participants did take advantage of the Qualified Disaster Relief distributions that were approved by the board last fall. Participants who lived in the disaster areas were allowed to withdraw up to $22,000 without penalties, and can later recontribute some or all of the amounts withdrawn if they choose.
A waiver extension of the board’s administrative fee for 12 months was approved unanimously. A release says the action will save participants $1.7 million over the next year.
SUMMARY: Elon Musk appeared at a conservative conference outside Washington, brandishing a chainsaw to symbolize his efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. He touted his role in government efficiency, particularly with cuts at the IRS, which has laid off 6,000 workers. Although officials claim tax return processing is unaffected, concerns about delays remain. Musk proposed a $5,000 taxpayer dividend funded by the cuts and claimed support from President Biden. He also faced accusations of ties to Russia, amid tensions over Ukraine and Trump’s strained relations with President Zelensky. Musk dismissed these claims and continued advocating for budget cuts.
Billionaire Elon Musk appeared at a conservative gathering outside Washington waving a chainsaw in the air, showing openness to auditing the Federal Reserve and accusing Democrats of “treason.”
SUMMARY: A fire broke out in Holly Springs around 3:45 AM, leaving one person dead. Four people were inside the home, and three managed to escape. Fire crews are still investigating the cause of the fire, with multiple agencies involved, including fire marshals and forensic teams. The victim was located during a search, and authorities are working to determine the relationship of the occupants. The home was severely damaged, with the roof and walls destroyed. The investigation continues, and updates will follow as more information becomes available.
A fire tore through a Holly Springs home around 3:45 AM this morning. Fire investigators say one occupant died. There were four people inside the home at the time of the fire and everyone escaped except for one. The cause of fire is under investigation.
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Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies, and the real answers:
Question: Is it true that Publix plans to build a new store on New Leicester Highway? Or is that just a rumor and wishful thinking? It would be great if that was true. Also, Publix has had a sign up in Mills River that a store is coming there near the Amazon building. When will that be built?
My answer: Wishful thinking? Not at all. Now hoping for a second Trader Joe’s somewhere in the greater Asheville area? That’s crazy talk, which is one step beyond wishful thinking!
Real answer: The property in question is about 10 acres at 14 Hitching Post Lane, which has considerable frontage on New Leicester Highway. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners addressed the site at its Jan. 21 meeting.
“The Board of Commissioners recently approved a rezoning request for this property, but we are unsure if it will eventually house a Publix,” Buncombe County Planning Director Nathan Pennington said via email. “Developers/grocers/retailers typically keep these matters guarded until they are ready to announce.”
That is certainly the truth.
“We are always looking to bring the Publix experience to new areas across North Carolina, however, we do not have any plans to share for a new store at that location,” Publix Super Markets spokesperson Jared Glover told me via email. “As for Mills River, we do not have any update to share other than we are still moving forward with the project.”
I will note that the applicant for the Leicester rezoning request was Florida-based Equity
Development Group LLC, which has been involved in past Publix developments, according to a quick Google search. I reached out to the company contact listed on Buncombe County planning documents but didn’t hear back by deadline.
The commissioners agreed to rezone the Hitching Post Lane property from R-2 residential to Commercial Service. The Commercial Service designation allows an array of uses, including “commercial planned unit developments, veterinary clinics, banks, cargo and freight terminals, commercial greenhouses, hotels and motels, kennels, manufacturing operations, medical clinics, vehicle impoundment, repair, and sales lots, gas stations, fitness centers, business offices, restaurants, retail, business schools, warehousing and mini-storage, vacation rental complexes, and more,” according to the planning documents.
The planning documents also note that the commercial service district is “primarily intended
to provide suitable locations for clustered commercial development to encourage the concentration of commercial activity in those specified areas with access to major traffic arteries, to discourage strip commercial development, and to allow for suitable noncommercial land uses.”
Headquartered in Lakeland, Florida, Publix has 1,390 stores nationwide and 55 in North Carolina, including ones in south Asheville, Weaverville, Waynesville and Hendersonville, according to the company website.
All in all, I’d say the wishful thinking looks fairly positive, but stay tuned.
Question: Both our previous and current trash collectors use containers that look identical and are made out of the same type of plastic. The containers are used to pick up both garbage and recyclables. From previous articles I’ve read, only number one and number two plastics have the highest level of recyclability. What number of plastic are these containers, and are they recyclable?
FCC and Waste Pro bins can be recycled, Curbside Management President Abe Lawson says. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
My answer: I’d say to just toss them in the recycling bin, but they are the recycling bin.
Real answer: So this really comes down to whether the local recycling handler, Curbside Management in Woodfin, can handle them. And company President Abe Lawson has good news on that front.
“Curbie can and does recycle them,” Lawson said via email. “The rolling recycling bins/carts are made of #2 HDPE plastic, however, they are not the same grade as the #2 HDPE bottles that would typically be put into the recycling bins.”
As you can imagine, the bins’ large size poses some problems.
“Due to their overall size, thickness and chemical properties — a result of the manufacturing process — these bins have to be treated differently and go to different end users with the proper equipment,” Lawson said. “We receive these cans regularly — daily to weekly — from various municipalities, haulers, and through collecting our own worn-out cans.”
The metals on the cans have to be removed, “but then they are all baled and recycled,” Lawson added.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
