Pensionomics 2018: Measuring the Economic Impact of Multiemployer DB Pension Expenditures
This study analyzes data on specific private sector pension plans (referred to as “multiemployer plans”) to assess the overall national economic impact of benefits paid by these plans to retirees.
We estimate the employment, output, value added, and tax impacts of pension benefit expenditures from multiemployer plans at the national level, and find that the economic gains attributable to private sector multiemployer DB pension expenditures are considerable.
In 2016, $41.8 billion in pension benefits were paid to 3.5 million retired Americans covered by multiemployer plans. The average benefit paid to retirees covered by these plans was $11,935 per year. Expenditures made out of those pension payments collectively supported:
Nearly 543,000 American jobs that paid nearly $28 billion in labor income
$89 billion in total economic output nationwide;
$50 billion in value added (GDP); and
$14.7 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue.
The largest employment impacts occurred in the real estate, food services, health care, and retail trade sectors.
Evolution and Growth: How Public Pension Plans Have Diversified Their Investments Amid Changing Markets
A report from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) and Aon examines the changes public pension plan investing has undergone throughout the twenty-first century.
Pensionomics 2025: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures
Pensionomics 2025: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures finds pending powered by U.S. private and public sector defined benefit pensions contributed significantly to the economy. In 2022, retiree spending of public and private sector pension benefits generated $1.5 trillion in total economic output, supporting 7.1 million jobs across the nation.
In partnership with AARP and NRTA, NIRS has developed a series of state-by-state infographic fact sheets regarding the public employee and teacher retirement systems across the country.
These fact sheets present a snapshot of these retirement systems along with key data from NIRS research and other sources.
