The Funding of State and Local Pensions: 2011-2015

New Center for Excellence issue brief

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new issue brief from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, The Funding of State and Local Pensions: 2011-2015, looks at the effects of the 2008-2009 stock market decline on state and local pensions and what may improve their funded status in the future.

Written by Alicia H. Munnell, Jean-Pierre Aubry, Josh Hurwitz, Madeline Medenica, and Laura Quinby of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the brief's key findings include:

• During 2011, the funded status of public plans slipped slightly from 76 percent to 75 percent.
• This decline reflected slow asset growth due to actuarial smoothing, which was partly mitigated by an unexpected reduction in liability growth.
• Going forward, the funded ratio is projected to remain steady next year and then gradually improve as the market meltdown is phased out of the calculations.

Read the full brief at http://slge.org/publications/the-funding-of-state-and-local-pensions-2011-2015.

Access all Center retirement research at http://slge.org/research/retirement.

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, www.slge.org.

SOURCE Center for State and Local Government Excellence