A research infographic from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) finds strong support among Americans for retirement benefits provided to state and local government employees. “What Do Americans Think About Pensions For Public Employees? finds 86 percent of Americans say all workers, not just those employed by state and local governments, should have a pension. This support holds strong across political party affiliation, with Democrats in agreement at 89 percent, Independents at 86 percent, and Republicans at 83 percent.

The research indicates that Americans also view pensions as an effective workforce tool for recruiting and retaining public service employees. Eighty-two percent of Americans agree that pensions are a good way to recruit and retain qualified teachers, and 84 percent say that pensions are a good way to attract and keep qualified public safety employees. Additional findings of this nationwide survey are as follows:

• 82 percent of Americans agree public pension benefit levels are either too low or about right. The average retirement benefit for public workers is about $2,428 a month, though some employees receive more or less depending on their local cost of living.
• More than three-fourths of Americans say pensions for teachers make sense because these benefits compensate for educators’ lower pay. Eighty-two percent agree that those who work in public safety have risky jobs, and therefore should have a pension to provide these workers a secure retirement.
• More than three-fourths of Americans agree public employees should receive pension benefits because they help finance part of the cost by contributing money out of every paycheck.

As of September 2024, state and local governments employ about 20.4 million workers, or about 13 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This includes professionals who deliver essential taxpayer services. The vast majority of state and local government employees have a defined benefit pension as part of their compensation, largely because these retirement benefits help attract and retain employees for a public service career. Typically, public employees contribute to their pension benefits each pay period throughout their career. Most public employee pension benefits are paid for with employee contributions and investment income. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, for the 30 years 1992 through 2021, investment earnings accounted for 64 percent of public pension revenues, employer contributions made up approximately 25 percent, and employee contributions were approximately 11 percent.

Conducted by Greenwald Research, information for this research infographic was collected from online interviews between October 10-25, 2023. A total of 1208 individuals aged 25 and older completed the survey. The final data were weighted by age, gender, and income to reflect the demographics of Americans aged 25 and older.