Illinois has run a structural deficit for over a decade [as of the date of this paper, October 2011]. The state's unfunded pension obligations are $173 billion, with the fund projected to run out of assets by 2018. Illinois's Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB)—largely consisting of health...

Public pensions in the United States face an impending funding crisis in the wake of the financial crisis and the COVID-19 recession. Many cities and states will struggle to meet these growing obligations without major cuts in government services, reneging on pension promises, or raising taxes....

Financial advisors commonly use earnings replacement rates to assist workers in their retirement planning. Policymakers and analysts use them to gauge the adequacy of Social Security benefits and other retirement income in allowing retirees to maintain preretirement living standards. In recent...

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has released preliminary views on how public sector pension plans should value benefit liabilities. Because the GASB's proposals ignore government's contingent liability to pay plan benefits should assets fall short, they omit the full value of plan...

Social Security's Old Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund is projected to be exhausted in 2033. Without intervening legislative action, current law dictates that benefits at that time would need to be reduced by approximately 21 percent. It is commonly assumed that such benefit reductions...