June 2025

US. Milliman analysis: Public pension funding stable in April after plans end volatile month with slight market gain

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest results of its Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI), which analyzes data from the nation’s 100 largest public defined benefit plans. Despite April market swings caused by trade and tariff uncertainty, the Milliman 100 PPFI plans closed the month with estimated investment gains of 0.4% in aggregate. Individual plans’ estimated returns ranged from -1.8% to 1.4%. Combined, the plans added about $24 billion in market value during the...

May 2025

Why a retirement age of 70 is a bad idea, according to science

If you are counting the years until you can retire, then don’t move to Denmark. The country has just passed a law nudging the official retirement age up to 70, which will take effect in 2040, for people born in 1971 or later. But Denmark is not the only place with this idea. The UK state pension age used to be 60 for women and 65 for men. It is currently 66 for everyone, but it will increase – in stages – up...

US. House passes reconciliation bill that cuts federal employee retirement benefits

The House voted 215-214 along party lines early Thursday morning to pass its budget reconciliation package that includes a slimmer range proposed cuts to federal workers’ retirement benefits. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration. Last month, the House Oversight and Reform Committee advanced its portion of the bill, which would cut federal spending to partially pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and increased immigration enforcement. The measure included provisions requiring employees previously exempted from higher Federal Employees...

Jamaica. Senate Passes Legislation to Grant Certain Public Officers Option of Retiring Before Age 65

The Senate has passed legislation granting public officers born between August 1, 1961 and February 28, 1963, the option of retiring before reaching age 65 while still receiving full benefits. Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, piloted the Pensions (Public Service) (Amendment and Validation) Act 2025 through the Upper House on Friday (May 16). The Bill seeks to validate and confirm, as lawful, all the actions and omissions made by any person in...

The Singular Role of Public Pension Funds in Corporate Governance

By Jill E. Fisch & Jeff Schwartz With more than $5 trillion in assets, public pension funds are significant players in financial markets. Like private asset managers, public pension fund managers are typically expected to exercise their discretion over investing and engagement to serve the interests of the funds’ beneficiaries exclusively, a model that we term “beneficiary primacy.” To this end, beneficiary primacy imposes fiduciary duties on fund managers to maximize the economic value of the fund. We argue that...

US. House Committee advances proposal to cut back on federal employee pensions

In April, Representative James Comer (R-KY) announced a series of proposals that would force many federal civilian employees to pay higher premiums for retirement benefits and to lower their benefits by changing the formula for calculating payments, and last week the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability approved, by a narrow vote, to advance the proposals. Last Wednesday’s vote now advances the bill to the House Budget Committee, where it may face resistance from Republican lawmakers who might be reluctant...

Brazil social security minister latest to quit in major pension fraud scandal

Brazil's Social Security Minister, Carlos Lupi, has resigned nine days after police unveiled a major corruption scandal which defrauded pensioners of $1.1bn (£829m). Federal police allege that over the past decade, the National Social Security Institute (INSS) made unauthorised deductions from payments made to millions of pensioners. The money was allegedly paid to several associations and unions, which then shared the earnings with corrupt government officials. Lupi has always denied any wrongdoing and said he ordered an investigation as soon as he...

April 2025

Varying effects of public pensions: Pension spending and old-age employment under different pension regimes

By Kun Lee Socioeconomic consequences of pension reforms have often been discussed without careful consideration of institutional contexts, despite the fact that institutional designs of public pensions differ substantially across countries. This study argues that the outcomes of pension reforms vary depending on the institutional structure of public pensions, by showing that the associations between public pension spending and old-age employment rates of different socio-demographic groups vary across different institutional contexts. Using time-series cross-section data from 20 European countries and...

March 2025

US. Some retirees will see bump in Social Security benefit starting next month

Retirement just got a little boost for many public sector retirees and their spouses. By the end of this month, more than 3 million Social Security recipients affected by the Social Security Fairness Act that President Biden signed into law in January will see a bump in their benefits. This law increases monthly Social Security benefits for certain types of workers, including some teachers, firefighters, and police officers in many states, federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, and...

February 2025

US. Public Pension Plans Reach 5-Year High of 83.1% Funded

Public pension funds’ funded status has risen to a five-year high amid equity market strength, according to a study from the National Conference of Public Employees Retirement Systems. The annual NCPERS retirement study, which the organization has conducted since 2011, found that the average public pension has seen its funded status reach 83.1% through the first half of 2024, typically when the fiscal years for these plans ended. The report also found that discount rates have decreased to an average of 6.67%...