Research & Analysis

In response to a request for information issued by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the National Institute on Retirement Security has submitted a research issue brief with policy ideas to help expand defined benefit (DB) pension coverage for private-sector employees. The research brief, Policy Ideas for Boosting Defined Benefit Pensions […]

Women face an uphill climb when it comes to preparing for retirement. They earn less than men, often take time away from the workforce for caregiving, they live longer, and are less likely to have access to a retirement plan at work. In fact, U.S. Census Bureau data show that half of women ages 55 […]

Employees’ Retirement System Of Rhode Island: Examination Of Turnover Trends Since Retirement Reforms finds shifting employees in the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI) from defined benefit pensions in 2012 to a hybrid retirement plan is causing demonstrable changes in public employee attrition.

This national opinion research finds 83% of Americans believe all workers should have a pension, 79% say the nation faces a retirement crisis, and they want action now on Social Security.

No Quick Fix: Closing a Public Pension Plan Leads to Unexpected Challenges tracks the experience of five states that shifted new employees away from defined benefit (DB) pensions to defined contribution (DC) or cash balance plans. Among states that switched to a DC plan, costs rose, negative cash flow grew, and employee turnover increased. Additionally, […]

Closing the Gap: The Role of Public Pensions in Reducing Retirement Inequality finds that defined benefit pensions play a critical role in delivering adequate retirement income for older Americans while providing a key buffer against economic hardship for women, Blacks, Latinos, and those without a four-year college degree. The report also finds that the wealth […]

Generation X often is referred to as the forgotten generation, sandwiched between the large and culturally powerful Baby Boomer and Millennial generations. Today, Generation X commands less attention than Boomers and Millennials from both researchers and the media. A groundbreaking new report aimed at correcting this oversight, at least in terms of assessing the retirement […]

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 […]

As part of the 2023 revisions to ASOP 4, the Actuarial Standards Board will require a new disclosure, LDROM, that will affect future actuarial valuations. NASRA, NCPERS, NCTR, and NIRS formed a workgroup to develop the ASOP 4 Toolkit: Measuring Pension Obligations and LDROM to help pension funds communicate the new requirements of ASOP 4, […]

This research provides an overview of the special minimum benefit, an alternative Social Security formula that was initially passed by Congress in 1972 to set a benefit “floor” and protect workers from experiencing severe poverty in retirement. To be eligible, workers must have a record of 11 years or more of covered employment and must […]

Economic gains attributable to private and public sector defined benefit pensions in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic were substantial, according to Pensionomics 2023: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures. This report calculates the national economic impacts of U.S pension plans, as well as the impact of state and local plans on […]

Retirement is growing more challenging for public sector workers, according to a new report by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) and Aon, The Real Deal for the Public Sector: Retirement Income Adequacy Among U.S. Public Sector Employees. This research finds that state and local employees in a typical public defined benefit (DB) pension […]

This report finds that state and local government retirement systems on the whole successfully navigated the 2007 to 2009 Global Financial Crisis. Moreover, public retirement systems across the nation have adapted in the years since the recession by taking actions to ensure continued long-term resiliency. Examining the Experiences of Public Pension Plans Since the Great […]

Fortifying Main Street:  The Economic Benefit of Public Pension Dollars in Small Towns and Rural America illustrates the impact of benefit dollars from public pension plans according to several different measures: as a percentage of GDP by county; as a percentage of total personal income by county; and by categorizing counties as metropolitan, small town […]

This report documents how current tax incentives fail to promote adequate retirement security for the middle class. It considers the impact of factors including marginal tax rates, retirement plan participation, and income distribution on retirement saving levels. The Missing Middle: How Tax Incentives For Retirement Savings Leave Middle Class Families Behind also offers potential solutions […]