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State Retirement Administrators Respond to Call for Use of Corporate Pension Accounting Assumptions (PDF)

"Recent news stories and opinion pieces have stated or implied that public pensions should be using a corporate pension accounting standard to measure actuarial funding levels. This line of thinking suggests that public pensions should use a risk-free investment return assumption rather than the investment return assumption used by most plans of between 7.5 percent and 8.5 percent. To acquaint readers with this argument and the responses, NASRA has compiled below ..."

Report by State Retirement Administrators Addresses Calculation of Assumed Investment Returns (PDF)

"As with other actuarial assumptions, projecting public pension fund investment returns requires a focus on the long-term. This brief discusses how investment return assumptions are established and evaluated and compares these assumptions with public funds' actual investment experience."

Testimony: Examining the Retirement Security of State and Local Government Employees (PDF)

Testimony before U.S. House Committee on Education and the WorkforceSubcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations Field hearing on Wednesday, August 30, 2006, by Keith Brainard, Research Director, National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA) submitted on behalf of NASRA and the National Council on Teacher Retirement

The Annual Required Contribution Experience of State Retirement Plans, FY 2001 to FY 2013 (PDF)

"This study evaluates the [annual required contribution (ARC)] that was received by 112 state public pension plans, including the District of Columbia, from fiscal years 2001 to 2013. This study finds that although variation exists in ARC effort among states and other pension plan sponsors, i.e., cities, school districts, etc., most governments made good-faith efforts to fund their pension plans, and only a few severely neglected their pension funding responsibilities."

NASRA/NCTR Letter of July 14, 2006, to Senators Grassley and Baucus Regarding Their GAO inquiry (PDF)

9 pages. Excerpt: [T]he National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA) and the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR) [wrote] in reference to [the Senators'] letter dated July 10, 2006, to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a study of the funding status of public pension plans.

NASRA Issue Brief: State Hybrid Retirement Plans (PDF)

Nov. 2016.  "[A] growing number of states have established [hybrid plans] on either an optional or mandatory basis.... [M]ost contain the core features known to promote retirement security: mandatory participation, shared financing between employers and employees, pooled assets invested by professionals, targeted income replacement with survivor and disability protection, and a benefit that cannot be outlived." [Updated Dec. 2017]

NASRA Issue Brief: State Hybrid Retirement Plans (PDF)

"[T]his brief examines two types [of hybrid plans] in use in the public sector. The first is a cash balance plan, which marries elements of traditional pensions with individual accounts into a single plan ... The second type combines a traditional DB plan, usually with a lower level of benefit accrual, with an individual [DC] retirement savings account ... Despite variability among these plans, most contain the core features known to promote retirement security: mandatory participation, shared financing between employers and employees, pooled assets invested by professionals, targeted income replacement with survivor and disability protection, and a benefit that cannot be outlived." [Updated Nov. 2016]

NASRA Issue Brief: State Hybrid Retirement Plans (PDF)

"Although a hybrid retirement plan may take one of many forms, this brief examines two broad types in use in the public sector. The first is a cash balance plan, which marries elements of traditional pensions with individual accounts into a single plan ... The second type combines a traditional DB plan, usually with a lower level of benefit accrual, with an individual [DC] retirement savings account.... Despite variability among these plans, most contain the core features known to promote retirement security: mandatory participation, shared financing between employers and employees, pooled assets invested by professionals, targeted income replacement with survivor and disability protection, and a benefit that cannot be outlived." [Updated Sept. 2015]

Significant Reforms to State Retirement Systems (PDF)

98 pages. "Since 2009, nearly every state passed meaningful reform to one, or more, of its pension plans. Although the global market crash and recession affected all plans, differing plan designs, budgets, and legal frameworks across the country defied a single solution; instead, each state met its challenges with tailored changes specific to its unique circumstances."

Hybrid and Defined Contribution Plans as the Primary or Optional State Retirement Benefit (PDF)

"[This article] identifies states that provide a defined contribution plan to broad employee groups (public school teachers, public safety officers, correctional officers, or general employees), or a hybrid retirement plan (that has elements beyond mandatory employee contributions to a traditional pension plan) to these employee groups.... Although exact statistics are unavailable, most public employees participating in a DB plan also have access to a supplemental, voluntary DC plan." [Oct. 2011]