public pensions

Public Pensions Reach Strongest Fiscal Sustainability Position in More Than 20 Years

Source: NCPERS Public pensions have reached their strongest fiscal sustainability position in more than 20 years as they continue to make significant progress towards aligning long-term pension obligations with the economies that support them. NCPERS’ new research shows that in 2018, 45 states had pension liabilities growing faster than their economies. Today, that number has fallen to just two. The report, Measuring the Fiscal Sustainability of Public Pensions, builds on NCPERS’ sustainability valuation framework, introduced in 2022 as a [...]

CORPaTH2026-08-28T16:19:40-07:00August 26th, 2026|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: public pensions|

Private vs. Public Pensions: How Does Their Funding Stack Up?

Source: American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries Running any pension plan entails challenges and has characteristics different from those of other retirement saving vehicles. But even among pension plans themselves there are variations. Pension plans run by private-sector employers and those run by governmental entities for their employees share their ultimate purpose of providing dependable and predictable revenue to their covered retirees. Still, however, they do vary from each other. One of the ways that private and public [...]

CORPaTH2026-07-29T11:43:30-07:00July 29th, 2026|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: private pensions, public pensions|

Why Public Pensions Are a Civil Rights Issue

By Ariel McConnell Source: National Public Pension Coalition Black History Month is a time to reflect not only on the struggle for voting rights, desegregation, and political representation, but also on the enduring fight for economic dignity and security. One often overlooked part of that history—and that struggle—is retirement security. Public pensions are frequently discussed in fiscal or actuarial terms. Yet when viewed through a historical and racial equity lens, they also represent a civil rights issue, rooted in [...]

CORPaTH2026-02-04T15:14:00-08:00February 4th, 2026|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: public pensions|

Letter to the editor: An ode to public workers

Source: Peninsula Clarion I recently attended a local event in which we had some state representatives present a bill that was aimed at securing pension for public workers. At this event, I kept internally cycling all the woes and complaints I have as a teacher. In my mind, no one has it worse than me. Yes, I know, “boo hoo.” Though I kept my complaints silent, others did not. A public assistance worker stood up and voiced her frustration [...]

CORPaTH2025-11-21T10:03:12-08:00November 21st, 2025|Categories: Retirement|Tags: public pensions|

Closing Pensions For Public Workers Has Proven A Mistake

By Dan Doonan Source: Forbes A measure to close North Dakota's public pension plan is headed to Governor Doug Burgum's desk for signature. Before enacting the measure, the state’s chief executive would be wise to look at the experience of other states that have made such a drastic move. State leaders have learned the hard way that ending pension benefits comes with little to be gained and a big price to pay. More specifically, states that shifted new employees [...]

CORPaTH2023-05-24T15:18:07-07:00April 27th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: north dakota, public pensions|

U.S. public pension funding rises in March

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments The overall estimated funding ratio of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans improved to 74.5% as of March 31 from 73.6% a month earlier, according to the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding index. During the month of March, Milliman estimated that public pension plans had an aggregate investment return of 1.8%, with an estimated range of 0.7% to 2.8%. While February was a down month, strong returns in January contributed to [...]

CORPaTH2023-04-19T15:52:22-07:00April 19th, 2023|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: funding ratio, public pensions|

Big pensions are nearly 100% funded, the healthiest they’ve been since 2008 financial crisis

By Greg Iacurci Source: CNBC The pension plans of big U.S. companies haven’t looked this good since before the 2008 financial crisis — and that’s good news for workers and employers. A pension’s “funded” status is a core gauge of its health. It’s a measure of plan assets relative to liabilities (how much money the plan needs to pay future income). Pensions less than 100% funded don’t have enough money on hand to meet future obligations to retirees. The [...]

CORPaTH2022-01-17T10:56:08-08:00January 17th, 2022|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: pension funding, public pensions|

Public pensions funded ratio continues strong recovery; hits new high-water mark of 79.0% in Q1 2021

By Rebecca A. Sielman Source: Milliman The first quarter (Q1) of 2021 marked a fourth consecutive quarter of high-water marks for both assets and liabilities for public pensions, with the estimated funded status of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans growing from 78.6% at the end of December 2020 to 79.0% at the end of March 2021, as measured by the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI). The deficit between estimated assets and liabilities closed slightly from [...]

CORPaTH2021-05-13T08:05:20-07:00April 21st, 2021|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: public pensions|

Public pension funds are a net gain for state and local revenue – study

Public pension funds were net revenue generators for state and local governments in 2018, surpassing taxpayer contributions by $179 billion, according to a biennial study released Tuesday by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. That represents a 30.6% increase from the original study covering 2015-2016. In 2018, pension funds generated about $341.4 billion in state and local revenues through investments and retiree spending, while the taxpayer contribution to those pension plans was $162 billion. For 40 states, [...]

CORPaTH2020-05-06T14:47:18-07:00May 6th, 2020|Categories: Economy|Tags: public pensions|

NIRS Reponds to The New York Times on Public Pensions

In response to a New York Times article published April 2, 2020, an article regarding public pensions, NIRS writes that characterizing these retirement plans that serve 15 million working and 11 million retired employees of state and local government as “time bombs” borders on journalistic malpractice. Indeed, public pension funds face challenges that will arise because of the unprecedented economic conditions facing all investors. But, the vast majority of these plans are built to last. The letter indicates that when [...]

CORPaTH2020-04-22T08:10:43-07:00April 22nd, 2020|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: public pensions|

Public pensions survived the Great Recession. They will survive coronavirus, too

For most Americans these days, timing is everything when it comes to retirement. At the moment, it looks like those who recently retired or who are on the cusp of retirement may have picked a bad time to be born. For them, the steep drop in the investment markets caused by the coronavirus pandemic came at just the wrong moment. History tells us that the markets will recover and that cycles of ups and downs are inevitable. But under [...]

CORPaTH2020-04-21T10:25:22-07:00April 21st, 2020|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: COVID-19, public pensions|