Research & Analysis

The study broadly examines how American households are faring in relation to retirement savings targets recommended by some financial services firms.

This nationwide public opinion poll measures how Americans feel about their financial security in retirement and assesses their views on policies that could improve their retirement outlook.

This primer provides a comprehensive overview of the public pension investment process, or how pension systems allocate assets and set expected rates of return.

This report examines key factors that have contributed to private and public employers’ pension decisions.  It finds that closing a pension can cost substantially more than adjusting an existing plan.

This report examines the workforce impacts of switching from a DB plan to a DC plan. Public employers would attract a different labor force, there would be an increase in employee turnover, and employers will incur higher costs.

A new issue brief provides a historical overview of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System and the Thrift Savings Plan and how they create a combined approach to achieving retirement security.

This report calculates the impact of pensions for reducing the risk of elder American poverty and hardship, particularly for households headed by women and racial/ethnic minority groups.

This report provides the national economic impacts of public and private pension plans, as well as the impact of state and local plans on a state-by-state basis.

This report analyzes the effectiveness of defined benefit (DB) pensions on teacher retention and productivity finds that pensions play a critical role in recruiting and retaining productive teachers.

This report finds that New York City’s defined benefit pension plans can deliver the same retirement income at nearly 40% lower cost than defined contribution 401(k)-type individual accounts.

This study analyzes seven state retirement systems that offer a choice between DB and DC plans to find that workers strongly prefer DB plans over DC plans.

This report examines selected statewide public pension plans to identify common elements that led these plans to remain well-funded despite two severe economic downturns.

This report examines why DB pension plan coverage has declined for private sector workers. It finds that funding volatility is the primary culprit, not pension costs.

This nationwide public opinion poll measures how Americans feel about their financial security in retirement and assesses their views on policies that could improve their retirement outlook.

This report examines the compensation gap between employees of state & local governments and comparable private sector employees. Analysis spanning two decades shows the pay gap has widened in recent years.