7-8 Percent Pension Returns Are Not "Hopeful"

There are more arithmetic problems at the NYT. It noted that pension returns have been very low in recent years and then commented:

"Pension plans hope to make up these lost years and reach performance targets that in some cases are still set at a hopeful 7 to 8 percent a year."

Bizarrely, the NYT seems to think that low returns in the recent past should imply low returns in the future. In fact, the exact opposite is true.

The low returns in the recent past were the result of a drop in stock ...