Studies and Reports

Recently Released

• In Defense of Defined-Benefit Pensions, Center for American Progress Action Fund, February 2012
• Developing a Pension Funding Policy for State and Local Governments, Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Co., January 2012
• A State Budgeting Perspective on Public Pensions, National Association of State Budget Officers, January 2012
• State and Local Government Defined Benefit Pension Plans: The Pension Debt Crisis that Threatens America, United States Senate Committee on Finance, January 2012
• Kansas PERS Study Commission Final Report, Kansas Legislative Research Department, December 2011
• Wisconsin Comparative Study, Wisconsin Legislative Council, December 2011
• 2011 State Pension Funding Review, Loop Capital, December 2011
• Public Fund Survey Summary of Findings for FY 2010 NASRA and the National Council on Teacher Retirement, December 2011
• Review of Retirement Benefits for State and Local Government Employees: Report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia, Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, December 2011
• The Automatic Stabilizing Effects of Social Security and 401(k) Plans Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, The New School, December 2011
• How Would GASB Proposals Affect State and Local Pension Reporting? Center for Retirement Research, November 2011
• Fiscal 2011 Pension Asset Gains Provide Limited State Budget Relief Moody's Investor Services, November 2011
• NASRA Issue Brief: State Hybrid Retirement Plans, NASRA, November 2011
• The Three Rs of Teacher Pension Plans: Recruitment, Retention, and Retirement, National Institute on Retirement Security, October 2011
• Glossary of Actuarial Terms and Concepts, National Education Association, October 2011
• The Wrong Target: Public Sector Unions and State Budget Deficits by Sylvia A. Allegretto, Ken Jacobs and Laurel Lucia, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California, Berkeley, October 2011

Standing Reports and Databases

• Public Fund Survey - A standing, online compendium of public retirement systems, featuring summary and detailed information about 100 systems and 126 of the plans they oversee. Sponsored by NASRA and NCTR. login required
• Wisconsin Comparative Study - A biannual report prepared by the Wisconsin Legislative Council featuring key data from 85 statewide public retirement systems plus the systems sponsored by the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. The report contains separate chapters on normal and early retirement provisions, contribution rates, vesting requirements, retirement benefit calculations, cost-of-living adjustments, and actuarial and accounting methods.
• 2010 Wilshire Report on State Retirement Systems - Published annually by Wilshire Associates
• Public Plans Database - Center for Retirement Research and Center for State and Local Government Excellence
• The Funding of State and Local Pensions in 2010 - Center for Retirement Research
• Characteristics of Large Public Education Plans National Education Association

Reports by Organization

• Center for Retirement Research
• Center for State & Local Government Excellence
• Pew Center on the States
• Reports by Federal Agencies

Reports by Topic

• Credit Effects Research
• Costs of Switching From a DB to a DC Plan
• Divestment
• Economic Benefits of Public Pensions
• Governance and Legislation
• Investment and Funding
• Pensions and Compensation
• Plan Design
• Retirement Security
• Taxation of Public Pensions
• Pension Programs for Teachers and Educational Employees

State Studies

Arizona

• Defined Contribution Study Committee, Created by the 55th Arizona State Legislature, 2011
• A Comparative Analysis of Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Retirement Plans, September 22, 2006, by Paul Matson and Susanne Dobel, Arizona State Retirement System

California

• Legislative Analysis of the Proposed California Constitutional Initiative Concerning Public Employee Pensions December 22, 2011, California Legislative Analyst's Office
• California Public Sector Retirement Programs and Compensation: A financial analysis prepared for The California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility July 2011, Capitol Matrix Consulting
• Vested Rights of CalPERS Members July 2011, addresses the issue of vested pension rights for CalPERS members
• Public Pensions for Retirement Security February 24, 2011, The Little Hoover Commission

Colorado

• Study of Retirement Plan Designs for the State of Colorado, November 20, 2001, by the State of Colorado, Office of the State Auditor

Kansas

• Kansas PERS Study Commission Final Report, Kansas Legislative Research Department, December 2011
• Cost Study for the "Stacked Hybrid" Plan, October 24, 2011, Cavanaugh McDonald Consulting

Maryland

• Public Employees' and Retirees' Benefit Sustainability Commission 2010 Interim Report, January 2011, Public Employees' and Retirees' Benefit Sustainability Commission

Massachusetts

• Final Report of the Special Commission to Study the Massachusetts Contributory Retirement Systems, October 7, 2009, The Special Commission to Study the Massachusetts Contributory Retirement Systems

Minnesota

• Retirement Plan Design Study Minnesota Statewide Retirement Systems, June 1, 2011

Montana

• Pensions: A State and Local Challenge by Stephanie Morrison, Ph.D, for the Montana Legislative Finance Committee, September 30, 2011

Nebraska

• Benefit Review Study of the Nebraska Retirement Systems, August 2000, by Buck Consultants

Nevada

• Public Employees Retirement System of the State of Nevada: Analysis and Comparison of Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Retirement Plans, December 14, 2010, The Segal Group, Inc.

New Mexico

• http://www.nasra.org/resources/New%20Mexico%20ERB-DC.pdf Defined Contribution Study for the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board], October 14, 2005, by Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company

New York

• A Better Bang for New York City's Buck: An Efficiency Comparison of Defined Benefit Pension Plans and Defined Contribution Retirement Savings Plans, National Institute on Retirement Security and Pension Trustee Advisors, October 2011

North Carolina

• Final Report to Boards of Trustees of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and the Local Government Employees' Retirement System, December 2, 2010, North Carolina Future of Retirement Study Commission

Oklahoma

• Interim Study: State pension systems to a defined contribution plan for new hires, requested by Senator Patrick Anderson

Pennyslvania

• Special Report: Divestment and Pennsylvania's Public Employee Retirement System Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public Employee Retirement Commission, October 2007

Rhode Island

• Truth in Numbers: The Security and Sustainability of Rhode Island's Retirement System Office of the Rhode Island State Treasurer, June 2011

Texas

• Analysis of Defined Benefit Plan Efficiency - TEXPERS July 25, 2011, Prepared by Pension Trustee Advisors for the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems

Virginia

• Review of Retirement Benefits for State and Local Government Employees: Report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia, Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, December 2011
• Pension Plan Reform in Virginia, August 2011, by Robert C. Carlson, The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy

Washington

• Pension Funding and Reform for Washington State Washington State Treasurer James L. McIntire, September 13, 2010

Wisconsin

• Constitutional Contracts Clause Challenges in Public Pension Litigation, April 8, 2011, by Paul M. Secunda, University of Wisconsin Law School; Marquette University - Law School