The State That Eliminated Pensions and Wants Them Back
Episode 3 of Retirement in America features a conversation with Republican Alaska State Representative Chuck Kopp, a former police chief. He discussed how Alaska became the only state in the nation to eliminate traditional pensions for most newly hired public employees and how that decision contributed to severe shortages of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other essential public workers.
Nearly two decades ago, Alaska closed its traditional pension plans to newly hired public employees, becoming the only state in the nation without traditional pensions for teachers and most public employees hired since 2006. Since then, the state has struggled to recruit and retain public workers as many prospective employees choose jobs in states that continue to offer pension benefits. The workforce challenge has become particularly acute in education, public safety, and other essential government services.
Watch Episode 3, The State That Eliminated Pensions and Wants Them Back, below.
“As Alaska's teachers, police officers, and firefighters move to states with stronger retirement benefits, policymakers are seeing that retirement benefits remain one of the most important tools for building and maintaining a stable public workforce. Alaska's experience offers important lessons for every state as policymakers consider how to design retirement benefits that attract and retain the qualified employees needed to deliver essential public services”
Dan Doonan
Host, Retirement in America Podcast
National Institute on Retirement Security
Retirement in America is a monthly podcast series from NIRS that examines the economic, workforce, and policy trends influencing retirement security. Combining expert insight with real-world experiences, the podcast helps listeners better understand one of the most important financial issues facing American workers and families today. Future episodes will feature discussions on retirement policy, Social Security, pensions, workplace retirement plans, demographic and workforce trends, and the lived experiences of Americans preparing for or living in retirement.
Florida’s Property Tax Initiative and the Unexpected Connection to Retirement Security
Property-tax relief could help homeowners facing rising costs—but what could it mean for the services they rely on and the retirement benefits of the public employees who provide them?
Recorded before a live audience at the Florida Public Pension Trustees Association conference, this Special Edition of Retirement in America examines Florida’s proposed property-tax changes, known as Amendment 3. The conversation looks beyond next year’s tax bill to consider how reduced revenues could affect staffing, emergency response, infrastructure, local control and public pension funding over time.
Watch this Special Edition Episode, Florida’s Property Tax Initiative and the Unexpected Connection to Retirement Security, below.
Workforce Turnover and Retention in the Public Sector: Insights from Public Pension Plans
This report examines how retention changes over public employees’ careers and varies across public workforces and retirement systems. The analysis draws on actuarial turnover assumptions and other information collected from 136 state-administered public pension plans representing 203 plan-employee groups and 12.8 million active members.
