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Comment Letter by National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, to Moody's on Adjustments to Pension Liability and Cost Information for Credit Ratings for States and Municipalities (PDF)

"While there is reference to 'relative' creditworthiness, rating should be based on the fiscal environment of each jurisdiction. Moody's is proposing to assess pension obligations through a comparative lens that does not adequately consider factors specific to an entity. These factors include funding policy, changes in plan design, contribution sources and/or contribution history. In addition, Moody's has indicated that the application of these adjustments will not only be used when assessing creditworthiness, but it will make the adjusted liabilities and cost for all states and localities public even when not determining credit ratings. NCPERS believes that such comparisons will lead to the release of flawed information."

Statement by National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems on Annuities for Employee (SAFE) Retirement Act (PDF)

"Senator Orrin Hatch's legislative proposal to turn public employee pensions over to private insurance companies is not only ill-conceived and unworkable, it completely misses the point. His legislation is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem -- and his proposal deftly directs public attention away from the real problem."

Text of Statement of National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems on Report of the State Budget Crisis Task Force (PDF)

"The Report of the State Budget Crisis Task Force ... correctly identified state and local governments' failure to keep up with required contributions in recent years as a primary cause of the current dilemma.... [T]he vast majority of public pension plans are solidly funded and are experiencing a robust recovery from the Great Recession. Three-, five-, 10- and 20-year investment returns are all on the rise - and long-term returns are far more indicative of a plan's health than short-term fluctuations.... Unfortunately, the real American retirement crisis was beyond the Task Force's portfolio - and it needs to take center stage in our national policy debate. The primary retirement savings vehicles for private-sector workers - defined contribution plans - are underfunded by over $8 trillion ... That means grave uncertainty for the futures of most 401(k) owners."

National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems Produces Report on OPEB Challenges for Retiree Medical Benefit Programs

Excerpt: National Conference on Public Employee Retirement System has issued a beautifully-done publication entitled 'The OPEB Challenge - Mapping a comprehensive strategy for public employers.' Many public sector employers provide retiree medical benefits as a supplement to 'traditional' pension benefits. With limited accounting recognition and pay-as-you-go funding, these benefits have not always received the attention that most agree they deserve. That situation is changing[.]

2021 NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study (PDF)

40 pages. "NCPERS has collected and analyzed the most current data available on funds' fiscal condition and steps they are taking to ensure fiscal and operational integrity. [This study] includes responses from 156 state and local government pension funds with more than 17.7 million active and retired members and assets exceeding $2.6 trillion."

2020 NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study (PDF)

39 pages. "Reporting funds saw, on average, 1-year returns of around 8.1 percent. The 5-year average was slightly below the assumed rate of return, while the 10-year average returns outperformed the assumption. The 20-year returns fell below the assumed rate of return as the strong performance of the late 1990s began to roll off the average.... The average investment assumed rate of return for responding funds is 7.26 percent, compared with 7.24 percent last year."

2017 NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study (PDF)

39 pages. "The market value of fund assets now exceed the actuarial value of assets for the 2017 respondents ... [A]ll responding funds report the total cost of administering their funds and paying investment managers is 55 basis points.... [F]unds that participated in both 2016 and 2017 show a drop to 52 basis points.... The average investment assumption is 7.5 percent.... [E]mployer contribution rates have risen from 18 percent of fund income in 2016 to 22 percent of fund income."

2016 NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study (PDF)

39 pages. "Responding funds report the total cost of administering their funds and paying investment managers is 56 basis points ... a decrease of four basis point from 2015.... Almost 40 percent of responding funds have lowered their actuarial assumed rate of return, and nearly an additional 30 percent are considering lowering in the future.... Aggregated 10-year returns are reported at 6.2 percent.... The aggregated average funded level is 76.2, up from 74.1 in 2015 and 71.5 in 2014."

2012 NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study (PDF)

"[The study] includes responses from 147 state and local government pension funds with a total number of active and retired memberships surpassing 7.5 million and assets exceeding 1.2 trillion.... The study finds that public funds continue to respond to changes in the economic, political and social landscape by adopting substantial organizational and operational changes their stakeholders to ensure long-term sustainability for their stakeholders. Efforts include increasing age and service requirements, increasing member contributions, stronger operational practices and more diligent oversight."

2011 NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study (PDF)

The study's primary findings are strongly positive. Public pension funds are experiencing a robust recovery from the historic market downturn of 2008-2009 -- reporting strong investment returns, growing assets and funding levels on track to meet obligations.

2011 NCPERS Public Retirement Systems Study Preliminary Results (PDF)

Despite weak short-term investment experience in 2008 and 2009, the long-term investment discipline of fund managers has produced an average 1-year return of 13.5 percent based on most recently reported data.

NCPERS Battles Against Privatization of Public Employee Retirement Plans

Excerpt: National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems is totally involved in the battle to stop privatization of public pension benefits by eliminating defined benefit plans and totally replacing them with defined contribution plans. NCPERS has published the following myths and facts about privatizing public employee retirement in California [in the target page][.]

NCPERS Statement on Support for Sen. Hatch's Secure Annuities for Employee (SAFE) Retirement Act: (PDF)

"Public pensions are not part of Detroit's problem. In fact, its public pensions are well funded -- over 96 percent for the Police & Fire plan and over 87 percent for other city employees.... Some ... would exploit Detroit's dilemma to push an ill-considered political agenda to dismantle public pensions and enrich life insurance companies. They should note that during the more than 150 years of public pension history, no public pension plan has ever asked for a federal bailout. But plenty of life insurance companies have failed[.]"

NCPERS Proposes Coverage of State-Run Retirement Plan for Private Employees to Ensure Retirement Security for All Marylanders (PDF)

"In an effort to significantly boost retirement security for private sector workers who are at risk -- while making the state's small businesses more competitive -- Maryland should create a public-private partnership to offer an affordable, low-cost, easily administered retirement savings program to private sector employers ... Testifying before the Maryland Joint Committee on Pensions, Hank Kim, Esq., Executive Director and Counsel of [NCPERS] urged legislators to establish a defined benefit plan rather than a defined contribution plan -- not only to allow professional management of assets and investments and to keep costs low, but to make covered workers immune to stock market fluctuations and sudden economic downturn."

Video: National Public Pension Coalition's Briefing on America's Public Pension Systems

"The NPCC is comprised of the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American Federation of Teachers, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the National Education Association and the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS). The Coalition engages in state-based activities in support of public employee defined benefit pension systems."

Website Maintained on Legislation before Congress Affecting NCPERS – The Voice for Public Pensions

"NCPERS tracks federal legislation that has been signed into law and bills that are pending before the Congress affecting public sector pension funds."

Comments by NASRA, NCPERS and NCTR on ASB Actuarial Standards of Practice No. 4 Exposure Draft (PDF)

"[1] ASOP 51 already provides a robust framework for the assessment of risk, and the Investment Risk Defeasement Measure (IRDM) is a poor measure of risk ... [2] The intended purpose and application of an IRDM is unclear, particularly for risk-sharing plans ... [3] Requiring pension plans to pay for the calculation of a value that, in many cases, is of marginal utility, is unreasonable and may violate public pension fiduciary duties.... [4] The Investment Risk Defeasement Measure conflicts with the actuarial standard that standards should not be prescriptive ... [5] Requiring calculation of an IRDM may be a result of the ASB not following its traditional processes for proposing ASOP modifications."

Comment Letter by NCTR, NASRA and NCPERS to IRS on Proposed Regs under Section 415 (PDF)

7 pages. Excerpt: We would respectfully but strenuously urge consideration be given to extending the period for comments and delaying the public hearing on the proposed regulations until November or December so that affected plans can have sufficient time to review the proposals in depth, evaluate their impact on their particular circumstances, and prepare adequate responsive comments.

Best Governance Practices for Public Retirement Systems (PDF)

"NCPERS encourages fiduciaries who have not done so to consider adopting the [practices in this document] with the understanding that flexibility in implementation is one hallmark of effective governance."

Public Retirement Systems: Trends in Fiscal, Operational, and Business Practices (PDF)

32 pages. "One-year investment returns reached an average of 9.47% for responding systems with a fiscal year-end date in the first half of 2024.... Combined investment manager and administrative expenses have risen from 57 basis points (or 0.57%) for systems with fiscal year ends in the first half of 2020, to 73 basis points (or 0.73%) for first half 2024 fiscal year systems.... Top priorities for 2025 include improving cybersecurity and fraud prevention systems, sustaining target funding levels, and updating/acquiring a pension administration system."