The Economics of State and Local Public Pensions / Jeffrey R. Brown, Robert Clark, Joshua Rauh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brown, Jeffrey R.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Clark, Robert.

Rauh, Joshua.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w16792.

NBER working paper series no. w16792

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2011.

Summary:

This paper provides an overview of an economics-based perspective on the financial aspects of state and local public pensions in the U.S. Drawing on the research commissioned for an NBER research program on this topic, we discuss the large degree to which public pension liabilities exceed the assets set aside to fund them. We summarize issues related to the optimality of pre-funding, portfolio allocation, the discounting of liabilities, as well as how plans operate in practice. We also lay out an agenda for future research related to financial aspects of public pensions, retiree health plans for public employees, as well as issues related to plan design and labor market outcomes.

Notes:

Print version record

February 2011.