State and Local Pension Costs: Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, and Post-Reform

States have begun to respond to their pension challenge by enacting a mix of revenue increases and benefit cuts. These changes will, over time, improve the financial outlook for plans and help ease their impact on other budget priorities. But, to date, the specific nature and magnitude of these effects on plan finances and overall state budgets has received little attention. This brief reports on a study designed to fill the void with an analysis of pension costs before the financial crisis, after the financial crisis, and after reforms for a sample of 32 plans in 15 states. The study also introduces a companion series of fact sheets on each of the sample plans and states.