"Why Don't Some States and Localities Pay Their Required Pension Contributions?"
The brief's key findings are:
• Over 40 percent of plans in our sample failed to make their annual required contribution (ARC) in 2006.
• Two thirds of these plans faced legal constraints on their contributions, but many are gradually adjusting their limits.
• For the unconstrained plans, the following factors are associated with a failure to make the ARC:
o The plan uses a less rigorous cost method;
o The plan is large; and
o The plan is in a state with a relatively high debt burden.