Although states have a history of making adjustments to their workforce retirement programs, changes to public pension plan design and financing have never been more …
Alex Brown
June 8, 2016
March 23, 2015
Working Paper
The Annual Required Contribution Experience of State Retirement Plans, FY 01 to FY 13
by Keith Brainard and Alex Brown
After its creation in the 1990s, the annual required contribution (ARC) quickly became recognized as the unofficial measuring stick of the effort states and local …
December 16, 2014
Issue Brief
Spotlight: Retiree Health Care Benefits for State and Local Employees in 2014
by Alex Brown and Joshua Franzel
Other postemployment benefits (OPEB) offerings and liabilities greatly range among state and local governments. In addition to examining the finances of the health care benefit …
October 29, 2014
Issue Brief
Public Pension Plan Investment Return Assumptions
by Keith Brainard and Alex Brown
As of June 30, 2014 state and local government retirement systems held assets of $3.70 trillion. These assets are held in trust and invested to …
June 9, 2014
Issue Brief
Shared-Risk in Public Retirement Plans
by Keith Brainard and Alex Brown
Retirement plan designs feature a variety of risk-bearing arrangements, ranging from an employer maintaining sole responsibility for funding guaranteed benefits, to employees bearing the full …
May 1, 2014
Issue Brief
State and Local Government Spending on Public Employee Retirement Systems
by Keith Brainard and Alex Brown
State and local government pension benefits are paid not from general operating revenues, but from trust funds to which public retirees and their employers contributed …
February 28, 2014
Issue Brief
Cost-of-Living Adjustments
by Keith Brainard and Alex Brown
Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) in some form are provided on most state and local government pensions. The purpose of a COLA is to offset, or reduce, …
January 1, 2014
Issue Brief
Employee Contributions to Public Pension Plans
by Keith Brainard and Alex Brown
Unlike in the private sector, nearly all employees of state and local government are required to share in the cost of their retirement benefit. Employee …
September 1, 2013
Issue Brief
State Hybrid Retirement Plans
by Keith Brainard and Alex Brown
Although hybrid plans have been in place in public sector retirement systems for decades, this plan design has received increased attention in recent years. This …