New Retirement in America Podcast Explores How Eliminating Pensions Fueled Alaska’s Public Workforce Crisis
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New Retirement in America Podcast Explores How Eliminating Pensions Fueled Alaska’s Public Workforce Crisis
Alaska Lawmaker Discusses How Ending Pensions Contributed to Worker Shortages and the Bipartisan Coalition Working on an Innovative Solution
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 16, 2026 — The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) today released Episode 3 of its new podcast, Retirement in America: Conversations on the Future of Retirement Security. The new episode, “The State That Eliminated Pensions and Wants Them Back,” features Republican Alaska State Representative Chuck Kopp, a former police chief, discussing how Alaska became the only state in the nation to eliminate traditional pensions for most newly hired public employees and how that decision contributed to severe shortages of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other essential public workers.
“Alaska offers perhaps the clearest example in America of what can happen when changes to retirement benefits affect the recruitment and retention of public employees,” said Dan Doonan, NIRS executive director and host of Retirement in America. “As Alaska’s teachers, police officers, and firefighters move to states with stronger retirement benefits, policymakers are seeing that retirement benefits remain one of the most important tools for building and maintaining a stable public workforce. Alaska’s experience offers important lessons for every state as policymakers consider how to design retirement benefits that attract and retain the qualified employees needed to deliver essential public services.”
Nearly two decades ago, Alaska closed its traditional pension plans to newly hired public employees, becoming the only state in the nation without traditional pensions for teachers and most public employees hired since 2006. Since then, the state has struggled to recruit and retain public workers as many prospective employees choose jobs in states that continue to offer pension benefits. The workforce challenge has become particularly acute in education, public safety, and other essential government services.
Unlike many public employees across the country, many Alaska teachers and public workers also do not participate in Social Security, making the state’s retirement benefit structure especially important for recruiting and retaining qualified employees.
After years of debate, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers passed legislation this year creating an innovative shared-risk retirement plan that combines elements of traditional pensions and defined contribution plans while protecting taxpayers. Although the governor ultimately vetoed the legislation, supporters plan to continue pursuing the proposal during the next legislative session.
In the episode, Doonan and Kopp explore:
Why Alaska faces some of the nation’s most significant public workforce shortages
How retirement benefits influence the recruitment and retention of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public employees
Why Alaska became an outlier after closing its pension plans in 2005
The unique retirement challenges facing many Alaska public workers who do not participate in Social Security
How lawmakers designed a modern shared-risk retirement plan that balances retirement security with fiscal responsibility
Why the legislation attracted bipartisan support and what comes next following the governor’s veto
The conversation also examines why retirement benefits have become an increasingly important workforce development tool and what other states can learn from Alaska’s experience. Kopp discusses how employee turnover affects taxpayers through higher recruiting and training costs, diminished institutional knowledge, and growing challenges in maintaining essential public services.
Retirement in America is a monthly podcast series from NIRS that examines the economic, workforce, and policy trends influencing retirement security. Combining expert insight with real-world experiences, the podcast helps listeners better understand one of the most important financial issues facing American workers and families today. Future episodes will feature discussions on retirement policy, Social Security, pensions, workplace retirement plans, demographic and workforce trends, and the lived experiences of Americans preparing for or living in retirement.
The National Institute on Retirement Security is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established to contribute to informed policymaking by fostering a deep understanding of the value of retirement security to employees, employers, and the economy as a whole. Located in Washington, D.C., NIRS membership includes financial services firms, employee benefit plans, trade associations, and other retirement service providers. More information is available at www.nirsonline.org.
Statement on Efforts in Alaska to Restore Pension Benefits to Address Grave Workforce Shortage
Alaska’s effort to restore a pension plan for public workers represents meaningful progress in addressing one of the state’s most pressing challenges: attracting and retaining a stable, experienced public workforce. While Governor Dunleavy has vetoed the legislation, the fact that the measure passed both the House and Senate demonstrates a growing recognition that retirement benefits are not just about retirement security — they also are an essential workforce management tool.
