The Miracle of Funding By State and Local Pension Plans

WASHINGTON, April 16 /PRNewswire/ — The Center for State and Local Government Excellence has issued its fifth issue brief on retirement plans, The Miracle of Funding by State and Local Pension Plans. The brief, which was written by Alicia H. Munnell, Kelly Haverstick, Steven A. Sass, and Jean-Pierre Aubry of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, finds that:

   — State and local pension plans, overall, are as well funded as private      plans, with assets covering nearly 90 percent of liabilities.    — This outcome is striking, even “miraculous,” given that public plans:       — tend to pay larger benefits;       — use a more stringent funding yardstick; and       — are not covered by any national legislation that mandate  funding         standards.    — Assets per worker increased markedly in the 1990s after states and      localities responded to new standards issued by the Government      Accounting Standards Board    

For a copy of the full brief, visit http://www.slge.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={6B5D32FD-C99D-41F7-96 91-4F1B1D11452B}&DE={F19C737C-1318-49AD-9806-C1D8BE172D91}%20 (Due to length of URL copy and paste into browser)

About the Center for State and Local Government Excellence

The Center for State and Local Government Excellence helps state and local governments become knowledgeable and competitive employers so they can attract and retain a talented and committed workforce. The Center identifies best practices and conducts research on competitive employment practices, workforce development, pensions, retiree health security, and financial planning. The Center also brings state and local leaders together with respected researchers and features the latest demographic data on the aging workforce, research studies, and news on health care, recruitment, and succession planning on its website, http://www.slge.org/.

Center for State and Local Government Excellence

CONTACT: Amy Mayers of the Center for State and Local GovernmentExcellence, +1-202-682-6102, amayers@slge.org

Web site: http://www.slge.org/