Research & Analysis

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.

The National Academy of Social Insurance, AARP, the National Institute on Retirement Security, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have released a new report detailing American’s views of retirement, Social Security at 90: A Bipartisan Roadmap for the Program’s Future.

As Social Security approaches its 90th anniversary, a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security finds that public support remains strong for Social Security, and Americans become more confident in Social Security as they age.

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.

As state and local governments across the nation continue to struggle filling public safety positions, new research from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) explores how defined benefit pension plans are a critical workforce management tool for public safety employers. The Role of Defined Benefit Pensions in Recruiting and Retaining Public Safety Professionals examines data from a nationally representative sample of 28 police and fire pension plans, as well as national datasets.

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 […]

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 […]