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  • • June 24, 2024

    The Role of Defined Benefit Pensions in Recruiting and Retaining Public Safety Professionals

    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.

  • • November 27, 2023

    No Quick Fix: Closing a Public Pension Plan Leads to Unexpected Challenges

    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, […]

  • • August 30, 2023

    Closing the Gap: The Role of Public Pensions in Reducing Retirement Inequality

    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 […]

  • • July 6, 2023

    The Forgotten Generation: Generation X Approaches Retirement

    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 […]

  • • December 21, 2022

    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 […]

  • • May 18, 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 […]

  • • February 28, 2022

    Americans’ Views of Public School Teachers and Personnel in the Wake of COVID-19

    A new national survey finds deep public concern about the K-12 public school workforce. Americans’ Views of Public School Teachers and Personnel in the Wake of COVID-19 finds that eighty-three percent of Americans express concerns about public school staff shortages, while 81 percent are worried about workforce burnout. Conducted by Greenwald Research, this new national […]