Source: National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems and Cobalt Community Research, 2012
In April and May 2012, the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) undertook the most comprehensive study to date addressing retirement issues for this segment of the public sector. In partnership with Cobalt Community Research, NCPERS has collected and analyzed the most current data available on member funds’ fiscal condition funds and steps they are taking to ensure fiscal and operational integrity.
The 2012 NCPERS Public Fund Study includes responses from 147 state and local government pension funds with a total number of active and retired memberships surpassing 7.5 million and assets exceeding 1.2 trillion. The majority – percent – were local pension funds, while 16 percent were state pension funds.
The study finds that public funds continue to respond to changes in the economic, political and social landscape by adopting substantial organizational and operational changes to ensure long‐term sustainability for their stakeholders. Efforts include increasing age and service requirements, increasing member contributions, stronger operational practices and more diligent oversight.