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The Evolving Role of the Federal Government in Retirement Savings

"Whereas the federal government previously exerted itself through a mix of tax deductions, exclusions, credits, and deferrals, the current Administration is pursuing a more engaged role. Building on the successes of 2022's SECURE Act 2.0, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and a slate of executive orders, the Administration has sought avenues to put money directly in Americans' pockets, or rather, their retirement accounts."  MORE >>

Cost Efficiency and Investment Governance for Public Pension Plans

"A disciplined approach to uncovering hidden costs in portfolios can be critical to understanding the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), improving governance, and fulfilling fiduciary responsibilities.... TCO addresses cost drivers across the investment value chain, from management fees to trade execution, settlement, and custody costs. Plan sponsors can achieve this with a bottom-up analysis of all cost elements and operational processes that prioritize risk management, transparency, and contract compliance."  MORE >>

Views of Millennial State and Local Government Employees on Their Jobs, Compensation and Retirement (PDF)

22 pages. "[1] Despite knowing they could earn a higher salary in the private sector, Millennials working in state and local government are satisfied with their jobs and total compensation. [2] State & local government Millennial employees are planning to stick with their current job, but changing their benefits might push some out the door. [3] Millennials working in state and local government are highly supportive of pensions, and they see the advantages of their benefits beyond retirement. [4] State and local government Millennial employees feel confident about their retirement, but worry about cuts or changes to benefits. [5] State and local government Millennial workers say eliminating pensions has negative consequences."  MORE >>

Text of GFOA Best Practice: Core Elements of a Pension Funding Policy for State and Local Governments (PDF)

"To provide the desired degree of assurance, a pension funding policy would need to incorporate the following principles and objectives: [1] Every government employer that offers defined benefit pensions should obtain no less than biennially an actuarially determined contribution (ADC) to serve as the basis for its contributions; [2] The ADC should be calculated in a manner that fully funds the long-term costs of promised benefits, while balancing the goals of 1) keeping contributions relatively stable and 2) equitably allocating the costs over the employees' period of active service; [3] Every government employer that offers defined benefit pensions should make a commitment to fund the full amount of the ADC each period ...; [4] Every government employer that offers defined benefit pensions should demonstrate accountability and transparency by communicating all of the information necessary for assessing the government's progress toward meeting its pension funding objectives."  MORE >>

Health and OPEB Funding Strategies from the 2012 National Survey of Local Governments (PDF)

[The survey finds that:] "7% fewer local units of government ... provide health coverage to their active employees. Governments who do provide health coverage are paying a slightly smaller share of the premium. Fewer local governments are self-insuring. [There is] a significant drop in the percentage of local governments who provide health insurance for retired employees, especially in the Midwest. The percentage who self-insure this population also has dropped, and the percentage providing retiree health coverage through a coalition/pool increased from 12% to 26%. As in 2011, there was a slight decrease in the percentage of local governments who are fully or partially prefunding their retiree health liabilities."  MORE >>

Governance and Administration of Other Postemployment Benefit Plans

"The Government Finance Officers Association ... recommends that sponsoring entities provide a clear, well-documented governance structure to guide governing bodies and plan administrators, as a good governance structure establishes the framework for effective plan administration."  MORE >>

Good Pension Governance: There Is a ROI (PDF)

This article discusses what good pension governance is and how it can be measured to quantify a return on investment (ROI). It also shows how to determine what differentiates effective governance from mediocre governance. Finally, it discusses the benefits of good pension governance and concludes with an example of a company that went wrong -- to show that the costs of inadequate governance can be considerable.

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Governance of Public Employee Post-Retirement Benefits Systems (PDF)

Excerpt: The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends that the state or local government or other designated governing entity establish rules of governance for its post-retirement benefit systems that define the key elements necessary for trustees and other fiduciaries to fulfill their responsibilities, in accordance with fiduciary standards.

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State Government Subsidies for Retirement Plans Sponsored by Local Governments

Excerpt: This report is concerned with state government financial subsidies for local government plans. It is not concerned with statewide plans that include employees of local governments, but only plans that are sponsored by a local government for employees of that government. The information in this report was collected by staff of the National Conference of State Legislatures from March 2007 through January 2010.

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GAO Report: State and Local Government Retiree Health Benefits Largely Unfunded, but Some Governments Are Taking Action

49 pages. "The total unfunded OPEB liability reported in state and the largest local governments' CAFRs exceeds $530 billion. However, as variations between studies' totals show, totaling unfunded OPEB liabilities across governments is challenging for a number of reasons, including the way that governments disclose such data." [GAO-10-61, published Nov. 30, 2009, released Dec. 23, 2009]

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Proposal Backs Government Rules for Tribal Pensions

Excerpt: A pro-sovereignty initiative to ensure that tribal pension plans fall under government regulations has garnered widespread support in Indian country, and awaits action by Congress. .... The problem is that the statute dealing with pension plans under government regulations does not include 'tribal governments' along with federal, state and municipal governments in the definition of 'government.'

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Follow the ERISA Roadmap: Good Governance Leads to Good Decisions

"Good plan governance provides a roadmap for and is the key to fulfilling ERISA fiduciary responsibilities well.... [T]he governance structure sets out the various responsibilities and applicable deadlines, how those responsibilities will be fulfilled, and who is responsible for taking action. Good governance requires effective delegation, committee charters, regular oversight of plan providers and input from qualified investment and legal professionals."  MORE >>

Keeping Your Retirement Savings Clear of the Government's Thumb

"The administration's framework tells fiduciaries, 'Evaluate each investment on its merits, follow a prudent process, and we will defer to your judgment.' The China prohibition tells those same fiduciaries, 'Never mind. There is no process to run and no judgment to exercise, Washington has already made the call.' This does nothing to take the government's thumb off the scale; it simply moves it."  MORE >>

IRS Proposes Rules Governing Trump Accounts, Including $1,000 Federal Pilot Contributions

"The proposed regulations would apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, with final rules expected in early 2027.... The IRS has expressly reserved further rules governing contribution administration, investments, distributions, reporting, and employer contribution programs. As a result, Trump accounts are authorized but not fully operational and stakeholders should expect additional regulatory detail before broader program implementation can proceed."  MORE >>

Treasury Targets Fraud Schemes Exploiting Government Health Care Benefits

"FinCEN's Advisory provides financial institutions with an overview of how fraudsters, organized crime groups, and increasingly, transnational criminal organizations are targeting government health care benefit programs. It also highlights money laundering typologies and red flag indicators to help financial institutions identify and report suspicious activity. Today's Advisory strongly encourages financial institutions to voluntarily report suspicious activity to FinCEN and immediately notify law enforcement of such activity."  MORE >>

Trump Account Guidance, Part 2: How to Open an Account, Claim the $1,000 Government Contribution

"The Treasury Department and IRS recently released additional guidance related to these accounts within two coordinated notices of proposed rulemaking that address the critical threshold questions of [1] how Trump accounts are opened generally, and [2] how the one-time $1,000 government 'pilot program' contribution is deposited into the accounts of eligible children born from 2025 through 2028."  MORE >>

The Government Is Matching Retirement Contributions: Here's How It Works

"Beginning in 2027, the Saver's Match replaces the Saver's Credit with a direct federal matching contribution deposited into the individual's retirement account. The government will match 50% of contributions up to $2,000 per year, meaning a qualifying worker could receive up to $1,000 directly in their retirement account."  MORE >>

The Government Is Matching Retirement Contributions: Here's How It Works

"During the 2026 State of the Union address, President Trump highlighted a new federal program that will provide a government match on retirement savings for millions of Americans. The program is known as the Saver's Match, and it was enacted as part of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. It applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027."  MORE >>

State and Local Government Contributions to Statewide Pension Plans: FY 24 (PDF)

11 pages. "[On] a national basis, contributions made by employers -- states and local governments -- in 2024 accounted for 76 percent of all contributions received by public pension plans. The remaining contributions were paid by employees.1 A 2025 NASRA issue brief finds that contributions made by state and local governments to pension trust funds in recent years account for 5.1 percent of all non-federal spending."  MORE >>

Public Pension Debt Should Be Scrutinized Like Other Types of Government Debt

"[P]ublic pension liabilities are not legally treated as general obligation-type debt and are not subject to the safeguards restricting GO debt undertakings. In some states, these pension obligations have even stronger claims on the full-faith and credit of the state than GO debt. The lack of general obligation debt type safeguards constraining public pension liabilities has significant implications on the financial risk position of state and local governments"  MORE >>