News Archive

39 pages. "Aon conducted a study of the investment policy statements of the 50 largest U.S. public pensions.... There is no single 'right' way to write an IPS, but it should be structured and worded with intention to provide clear guidance for implementation Especially with an evolving investment environment -- it is important that IPS documents evolve with the markets while maintaining appropriate risk management."  MORE >>

"[A recent study] systematically examines how consultants shape the investment behavior of U.S. public pensions.... The core conclusion is devastating. Consultants push pensions toward the same high-fee investments, often through the same networks of private fund managers, creating widespread portfolio convergence and systemic concentration risk -- yet the study finds no meaningful evidence that these consultant-driven shifts improve performance."  MORE >>

"A substantial majority of the teachers surveyed said they believe that having access to multiple plan options and multiple retirement providers is a good thing.... Nearly three-quarters of teachers ... said that they believe they are better equipped than their school districts to choose the right financial products and investments to finance their retirement."  MORE >>

"Although public pension systems operate under state-law fiduciary rules rather than the federal regulation this rule would amend, the structure it establishes matters: it is the most detailed federal description to date of what a prudent investment selection process looks like, and state courts evaluating public trustee conduct will inevitably use it as a reference."  MORE >>

"Reason's '2025 Pension Solvency and Performance Report' characterizes public pensions as operating continuously on a precipice, one market downturn from falling into an abyss and sending their sponsoring governments to fiscal ruin. Reason relies on specious comparisons of public pension plans and selective data while ignoring industry standards and practices, to present a pessimistic image of public pensions that are in financial and actuarial peril and investing at an inappropriately high level of risk."  MORE >>

"Alaska's government employees do not participate in Social Security, which leaves a significant gap in retirement benefits. Most of the state's government workers participate in the Alaska Supplemental Annuity Plan (SBS-AP), which more than replaces the benefits they would have received under Social Security. School employers, however, do not offer this benefit, leaving teachers at significant risk of inadequate savings for retirement. Senate Bill 55 (SB 55) aims to address this gap by making the same SBS plan available to teachers through school employers."  MORE >>

"The city carries more than $36 billion in unfunded pension liabilities across its four primary funds ... Simultaneously, over 20,000 city-owned vacant lots sit idle ... [This] proposal offers a new framework: micro-districting.... [T]his model converts dormant public-sector assets into recurring revenue rather than one-time windfalls.... [By] transforming long-standing liabilities into investable assets ... this approach offers a fiscally sound, politically feasible, and equity-focused path forward."  MORE >>

"Public pensions, normally the first to lead securities fraud cases, have been notably absent from the Apollo/Epstein stock drop litigation. That absence may reflect a deeper conflict: the same pensions that could sue Apollo for misleading disclosures are heavily invested in its private equity and private credit funds, where valuations remain opaque and untested."  MORE >>

46 pages. "This report breaks down financial and investment data by fiscal year-end dates -- incorporating data collected from fall 2021 through fall 2025 to more clearly reflect performance trends over time."  MORE >>

"Communications leaders should play a leading role in the application and understanding of new and evolving tools such as artificial intelligence.... The era of searching for information is quickly being replaced with the era of simply asking for it. This means communicators must also focus on how the people they serve use AI to find information."  MORE >>

"State-administered defined contribution plans must offer self-directed brokerage accounts with at least one cryptocurrency investment option by July 1, 2027, with governing boards authorized to set investment parameters, valuation methodologies, and administrative fees."  MORE >>

"This article provides a high-level overview of the most common retirement plan structures used by governmental employers, including defined benefit pension plans, 457(b) deferred compensation plans, 401(a) defined contribution plans, and hybrid approaches that combine elements of these structures."  MORE >>

"TPA does away with a strategic asset allocation (SAA), in favor of setting a reference benchmark (say, 80% equities / 20% bonds). The CIO and investment staff then build a portfolio which has a similar risk profile as the reference benchmark but eliminates formal asset class limits which exist in the SAA approach.... As CIOs of mid-market public pension plans, [the authors] see several challenges with TPA that are papered over or simply not addressed in most discussions."  MORE >>

"In 2011 and 2012, Alabama enacted major reforms to manage the runaway growth of the state's public employee pension debt. The changes, including higher retirement ages, increased employee contributions, and reduced benefits for new hires, were some of the most extensive in the nation.... Fourteen years later, the need for another round of reform is as great as ever."  MORE >>

"The law set July 1, 2027 as the deadline for the state plans to offer self-directed brokerage accounts with at least one [digital asset] option. Affected plans are Hoosier START, the state's public employees' deferred compensation plan, which offers 457(b) and 401(a) plans; the state legislators' defined contribution plan; and other retirement funds and accounts for 'specified' public employees and teachers."  MORE >>

"[The authors] found that after the implementation of accounting standards changes, there was a decreasing trend in discount rates and a corresponding increase in reported pension liabilities.... [T]his enhanced transparency strengthens the fiscal discipline mechanism, driving increases in employer contributions and more conservative investment return assumption.... [T]hese findings were especially pronounced among insufficiently funded plans, suggesting transparency is the most effective when fiscal stress is highest."  MORE >>

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 >>

"This article explores how participant data quietly erodes over time, and why missed deaths and missing participants are often early warning signs of broader risk. It highlights the impact of geographic dispersion and outlines how forward-looking plans are shifting from reactive fixes to defensible data governance. The result: greater confidence in the decisions that matter most as public retirement systems look toward 2026."  MORE >>

"[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 >>

61 pages. "As Bitcoin, regulated stablecoins, and crypto-linked equities have gained legitimacy in institutional finance through recent federal actions, a handful of public pension funds have begun taking limited exposure, and many more have been quietly exploring the possibility of entering the market. This report finds that Bitcoin's growing institutional and monetary adoption, its fixed supply, and historical performance indicate that it can be a legitimate -- though highly volatile -- return and diversification instrument for public pensions."  MORE >>

"Unlike the Federal FMLA, the CT FMLA does not require employers to maintain an employee's group health benefits during the period an employee is on CT FMLA leave to the same extent as if the employee was still working. However, there may be other applicable laws, contractual provisions, or policies that do require such coverage when an employee is out on CT FMLA leave, even if no other leave is being run concurrently."  MORE >>

"[T]he pension reforms that [a recent study] claims are detrimental to employees often lead to better benefits and retirement security, while ensuring the sustainability of retirement systems. These reforms also prevent pension debt from crowding out essential public services during economic downturns -- ensuring that state and local governments can continue to serve their communities."  MORE >>

"[I]ndependent journalist and teacher Jim Vail documented a striking confrontation between Teacher Trustee Erika Meza and the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund's external consultant, Callan Associates ... The exchange highlights the growing tension between rank-and-file educator fiduciaries and institutional insiders pushing private markets -- especially private equity -- with all of the attendant cost, complexity, and opacity that has plagued many U.S. public pension systems."  MORE >>

"Although the Court's analysis relied on statutes specifically applicable to municipal pension systems and the City's charter, the statutory frameworks governing other local systems -- including for counties and cities participating in CalPERS -- contain materially similar requirements supporting the broader applicability of the Court's reasoning." [City of San José v. Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assoc., No. S285426 (Calif. Dec. 18, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Public pension funds are entrusted with safeguarding financial security for their members and beneficiaries. Yet even well-managed systems face risks when participant records are incomplete, deaths go unreported, or beneficiaries cannot be located.... Protecting the future requires pension funds to conduct timely audits that close data gaps, strengthen system integrity, and ensure accurate benefit delivery."  MORE >>