State and Local Research and Technical Assistance

Guidance available for policymakers

The Pew Charitable Trusts' public sector retirement systems project performs 50-state and major city research on all aspects of public pension systems, including fiscal health, investment practices, benefits design, and governance. 

Based on our research expertise, Pew provides technical assistance to policymakers who are considering ways to ensure that their public sector retirement systems are affordable and sustainable—and that they put workers on a path to a secure retirement. At the invitation of cities and states across the country, we use objective and data-driven processes to analyze public retirement systems, and to develop and examine options for improvements.

Additional Resources

Article

October 1, 2020

New Jersey to Make Largest Pension Contribution in State History

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) and lawmakers have agreed on a plan to make the largest public pension contribution in the state’s history, moving to ensure the solvency of a chronically underfunded...

Article

September 10, 2020

North Carolina Now Requires Pension Stress Testing

North Carolina recently enacted legislation that mandates regular stress testing of the state’s largest pension system—the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS)—based on a framework...

Article

July 15, 2020

New Jersey Considers Tapping New Fed Borrowing Program to Meet Pension Contributions

New Jersey lawmakers face an estimated $10 billion gap in the state budget for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, attributable largely to sharp tax revenue declines linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.