Issue Briefs March 2023

A Vanishing Benefit: Why Social Security’s Special Minimum Benefit is Fading Away

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 […]

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Reports January 2023

Pensionomics 2023: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures

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 […]

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November 2022

The Real Deal for the Public Sector: Retirement Income Adequacy Study

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 […]

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October 2022

Examining the Experiences of Public Pension Plans Since the Great Recession

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 […]

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July 2022

Fortifying Main Street: The Economic Benefit of Public Pension Dollars in Small Towns and Rural America

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 […]

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Reports May 2022

The Missing Middle: How Tax Incentives for Retirement Savings Leave Middle-Class Families Behind

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 […]

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