Research & Analysis

A national survey finds strong support for new state-facilitated retirement programs aimed at helping workers without employer-provided plans save for retirement. Americans’ Views of State-Facilitated Retirement Programs finds: The vast majority of Americans (72 percent) agree that state-facilitated retirement programs are a good idea. There is high support across party and generational lines, with support […]

This report finds that economic inequality continues to grow, with Blacks and Hispanics owning only a sliver of financial assets. Even though the Gen X and Millennial generations are more diverse, whites continue to dominate when it comes to accumulating financial assets. This economic inequality ultimately translates into financial insecurity in retirement, which is exacerbated […]

A national survey finds that Millennials and Generation X are more worried about retirement as compared to older generations. Sixty-four percent of Millennials and 54 percent of Generation X are more concerned about their retirement security in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The level of concern is at 42 percent for Baby Boomers and […]

Hybrid retirement plans for state and local employees are not new, but these plan designs have received increased attention in recent years as some jurisdictions have sought to modify workforce retirement benefits. A hybrid is not one particular plan design, but instead is an umbrella term capturing a wide range of different plan designs. Some […]

A new national survey finds that more than three-fourths of Americans agree that all workers, not just those working for state and local government, should have a pension. And even though the nation is deeply divided on many other issues, support for pensions is consistent across party lines. Eighty percent of Democrats, 75 percent of […]

A new report finds that across party lines, Americans are worried about their financial security in retirement. The vast majority of Democrats (70 percent), Independents (70 percent) and Republicans (62 percent) agree that the nation faces a retirement crisis. There also is bi-partisan agreement that the average worker cannot save enough on their own to […]

Economic gains attributable to defined benefit (DB) pensions in the U.S. are substantial. Retiree spending of pension benefits in 2018 generated $1.3 trillion in total economic output, supporting nearly seven million jobs across the nation. Pension spending also added nearly $192 billion to government coffers at the federal, state and local levels. Pensionomics 2021: Measuring […]

This report examines several innovative and often lesser-known pension funding strategies that have been utilized in the public sector to address legacy pension costs and to create more stable costs over time. It comes as the recession sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened many state and local government budgets, and as concerns mount that […]

With healthcare and long-term care costs rising at much higher rates than wages or salaries, it is becoming more difficult for Americans to afford the costs of long- term care. These unpredictable costs, combined with low levels of savings, mean many older American families find themselves forced to spend down their assets so they are […]

The burden of preparing for retirement is increasing as workers face more risk and rising costs. Escalating housing, healthcare, and long-term care costs in retirement are creating retirement obstacles for Americans. Also, the shift from pensions to 401(k) plans has pushed more retirement risk onto workers. These findings will be detailed in a new study, […]

While most Americans are struggling to save for retirement, women face even higher hurdles, largely stemming from the gender pay gap that eventually becomes a retirement wealth gap. Older women receive about 80 percent of the retirement income older men receive, a disparity that mirrors the gender pay gap. Still Shortchanged: An Update on Women’s […]

As many small towns and rural communities across America face shrinking populations and slowing economic growth, a new report finds that one positive economic contributor to these areas is the flow of benefit dollars from public pension plans. In 2018, public pension benefit dollars represented between one and three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) […]

A new issue brief finds that Millennials working in state and local government are satisfied with their jobs and intend to stay with their employers so long as their benefits are not cut. Millennial State & Local Government Employee Views on Their Jobs, Compensation & Retirement provides a deeper analysis of NIRS’ November 2019 opinion […]

A new report finds that a large portion (40 percent) of older Americans receives Social Security income in retirement, but does not receive income from either a defined benefit pension or a 401(k) plan. Only a small percentage of older Americans (seven percent) receives income from Social Security, a defined benefit pension, and a defined […]

At a time when state and local governments are struggling to attract and retain employees to deliver vital taxpayer services, a new national poll finds that retirement and healthcare benefits are critically important job features, more so than salary. These benefits are viewed as a powerful recruitment and retention tool, with nearly all state and […]