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Backgrounders

View all policy studies.

  • Senate Bill 11 would bring public pension risk back to Alaska
    Senate Bill 11 would bring public pension risk back to Alaska

    SB 11 would likely cost Alaska $9 billion in the coming decades.

    By Zachary Christensen and Leonard Gilroy
    April 17, 2023

  • The costs and risks of proposed public retirement changes in Alaska
    The costs and risks of proposed public retirement changes in Alaska

    Examining several pieces of proposed legislation impacted public pensions in Alaska.

    By Pension Integrity Project
    April 17, 2023

  • Examining an Alaska pension reform counterfactual
    Examining an Alaska pension reform counterfactual

    A look at what would have happened to the Public Employee Retirement System and Teacher Retirement System if proposed pension reforms from 2021 had been enacted.

    By Ryan Frost and Leonard Gilroy
    April 17, 2023

  • House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 35 threaten Alaska’s budgets
    House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 35 threaten Alaska’s budgets

    HB 22 and SB 35 would likely cost Alaska upwards of $800 million in the coming decades.

    By Zachary Christensen and Leonard Gilroy
    April 17, 2023

  • Senate Bill 88 would expose Alaska to potentially higher pension costs
    Senate Bill 88 would expose Alaska to potentially higher pension costs

    Senate Bill 88 would likely cost Alaska more than $8 billion in the coming decades.

    By Leonard Gilroy and Zachary Christensen
    April 17, 2023

  • Montana’s default retirement benefit option should best serve most public workers
    Montana’s default retirement benefit option should best serve most public workers

    Montana House Bill 226 would better align the default retirement benefit option with what would best most workers need.

    By Leonard Gilroy and Steven Gassenberger
    April 10, 2023

  • Updated Arizona K-12 education finance model with latest school finance and transportation data
    Updated Arizona K-12 education finance model with latest school finance and transportation data

    The model allows users to test changes to Arizona’s funding formula, see how changes to local property taxes impact funding, and see how potential changes affect the funding of individual school districts and charter schools.

    By Christian Barnard
    April 7, 2023

  • Preserving and expanding the benefits of airline deregulation
    Preserving and expanding the benefits of airline deregulation

    Three reforms Congress could make to expand the benefits of airline deregulation.

    By Marc Scribner
    April 6, 2023

  • Montana House Bill 226 would modernize the Public Employees Retirement System
    Montana House Bill 226 would modernize the Public Employees Retirement System

    By Leonard Gilroy and Steven Gassenberger
    March 21, 2023

  • Why New Mexico House Bill 547’s tax increases undermine public health
    Why New Mexico House Bill 547’s tax increases undermine public health

    The taxes in the bill would hurt efforts to reduce the smoking of traditional cigarettes and disproportionately harm low-income families.

    By Guy Bentley
    March 17, 2023

  • Montana reform would improve pension funding and retirement savings for public employees
    Montana reform would improve pension funding and retirement savings for public employees

    Montana House Bill 226 would adopt actuarially determined employer contributions funding to guarantee benefits are fully funded within a specified timeframe.

    By Steven Gassenberger
    March 14, 2023

  • Actuarially determined contributions would reverse Montana’s pension debt trends
    Actuarially determined contributions would reverse Montana’s pension debt trends

    By Leonard Gilroy and Steven Gassenberger
    March 13, 2023

  • Clearing up definitions of backpack funding
    Clearing up definitions of backpack funding

    Without strong funding portability mechanisms, school districts have weak financial incentives to welcome transfer students.

    By Christian Barnard
    March 1, 2023

  • Modeling methodology and approach to analysis of public retirement systems
    Modeling methodology and approach to analysis of public retirement systems

    The Pension Integrity Project uses custom-built actuarial and employee benefit models that are tailored to reflect each unique retirement system.

    By Leonard Gilroy and Zachary Christensen
    February 17, 2023

  • Alaska House Bill 28 would help provide justice for those harmed by marijuana prohibition
    Alaska House Bill 28 would help provide justice for those harmed by marijuana prohibition

    Alaska lags behind other states when it comes to mitigating the harms done by marijuana prohibition.

    By Vittorio Nastasi
    February 17, 2023

  • Pension changes in House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 35 threaten Alaska’s budgets
    Pension changes in House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 35 threaten Alaska’s budgets

    HB 22 and SB 35 could cost Alaska upwards of $800 million in the coming decades.

    By Ryan Frost and Leonard Gilroy
    February 9, 2023

  • Scrutinizing NDPERS’ cost claims on House Bill 1040
    Scrutinizing NDPERS’ cost claims on House Bill 1040

    NDPERS is choosing to adopt the costliest interpretation of HB 1040 and is cherry-picking the worst from a range of actuarial cost estimates to scare away proponents.

    By Leonard Gilroy and Ryan Frost
    February 7, 2023

  • Does the defined contribution plan in North Dakota’s HB 1040 meet gold standards?
    Does the defined contribution plan in North Dakota’s HB 1040 meet gold standards?

    Examining the the proposed contribution rate, portability, enrollment options and other retirement plan features in North Dakota's House Bill 1040.

    By Ryan Frost
    January 24, 2023

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