A widespread perception is that state-local government workers receive high pension benefits which, combined with Social Security, provide more than adequate retirement income. This study uses the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and actuarial reports to test this hypothesis. The major finding...

The comparability of state-local versus private sector pay has become a major issue in the wake of the financial crisis. Funded levels of public pension plans declined sharply, and governments' ability to make the required contributions has been severely constrained by the collapse of...

The stock market hovers around pre-crisis peaks, tax revenues have rebounded, and plan sponsors have raised employee contributions for all workers and/ or reduced benefits for new workers, yet the funded status of state and local pension plans have once again slipped. This result reflects slow...

Public sector defined benefit pension plans are based on final earnings, so those with long careers receive substantial benefits and those who leave early receive little. This pattern of back-loading could reflect an optimal design whereby plan sponsors want to attract and retain workers who...

States and localities account for pensions in their financial statements according to standards laid out by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Under these standards, state and local plans generally follow an actuarial model and discount their liabilities by the long-term yield...

The employer match of employee contributions is an important characteristic of 401(k) plans. The match was designed to encourage participation and contributions ñ particularly by lower-paid employees. However, at many companies, the employer match became a casualty of the financial collapse and...

Tax reform is high on the nation’s agenda. While Re­publicans and Democrats may disagree about the ex­tent to which tax increases should be part of the defi­cit reduction effort, they generally agree that a broader base and lower rates for the federal income tax would promote fairness and...

State and local pensions have been headline news since the 2008 financial collapse reduced the value of their assets, leaving a substantial unfunded liabil­ity. The deterioration in the funded status of these plans raised pension costs at the same time that the ensuing recession wreaked havoc...

State and local pensions have been headline news since the financial collapse reduced the value of their assets, leaving a substantial unfunded liability. The magnitude of that liability depends on the interest rate used to discount future benefit promises but, regardless of the assumptions,...

State and local government pension reform has become a front-burner issue in the wake of the economic crisis, which sharply reduced funded ratios for most plans. Policymakers have responded primarily by raising employee contributions for all workers and/or reducing benefits for new workers. One...