Alaska Teacher Recruitment and Retention Study: Options and Analysis Supporting Retirement Plan Design
A report delivered to the Alaska Department of Education reviews the impacts of various retirement benefit offerings on the recruitment and retention of Alaska’s public education employees.
Alaska Teacher Recruitment and Retention Study: Options and Analysis Supporting Retirement Plan Design, finds that switching Alaska’s public employees from defined benefit pension plans to 401(k)-style defined contribution accounts resulted in more public educators leaving their positions. The research comes as teacher shortages plague Alaska and communities across the country.
The study benchmarks retirement benefit offerings among state-level plans in Alaska and nationwide, and it analyzes the evolution of public retirement plans since the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. Using available information about the retention of Alaska’s educational workforce, the report offers insights on the policy decisions involved with returning to defined benefit pensions.
In 2005, Alaska closed its two statewide defined benefit pension plans for teachers and public employees in a misguided effort to manage the unfunded liability. Since July 1, 2006, all new Alaska hires participate in a defined contribution plans rather than a pension plan. The retirement plan change did not address the funding shortfall, and it also had the unintended consequence of creating workforce recruitment and retention challenges for public employers. The lack of a defined benefit pension plan and competitive benefits often is directly cited as a major reason why Alaska struggles to recruit teachers, state troopers, and other public employees.
Florida’s Property Tax Initiative and the Unexpected Connection to Retirement Security
Property-tax relief could help homeowners facing rising costs—but what could it mean for the services they rely on and the retirement benefits of the public employees who provide them?
Recorded before a live audience at the Florida Public Pension Trustees Association conference, this Special Edition of Retirement in America examines Florida’s proposed property-tax changes, known as Amendment 3. The conversation looks beyond next year’s tax bill to consider how reduced revenues could affect staffing, emergency response, infrastructure, local control and public pension funding over time.
Watch this Special Edition Episode, Florida’s Property Tax Initiative and the Unexpected Connection to Retirement Security, below.
Workforce Turnover and Retention in the Public Sector: Insights from Public Pension Plans
This report examines how retention changes over public employees’ careers and varies across public workforces and retirement systems. The analysis draws on actuarial turnover assumptions and other information collected from 136 state-administered public pension plans representing 203 plan-employee groups and 12.8 million active members.
