According to a 2020 United States Census Bureau report, the nearly 300 state-administered and 6,000 locally-administered public retirement plans collectively hold $4.6 trillion in assets and distributed approximately $330.4 million in benefits. These massive plans’ fiscal health and funding are a priority for legislators and public sector stakeholders nationwide. As pension benefits are paid from trust funds that public employees and their employers contributed while working – not general government revenues – these trust fund assets are invested and expected to grow more over time.

The subject of pension reform – made more urgent by the Great Recession – is a seemingly permanent fixture in state Capitols across the country. Given the breadth of the subject, this CSG South Policy Analysis focuses specifically on the following:

1. Examining well-funded and performing state
   retirement systems in the South;
2. Comparing Southern state plans’ contribution rates
   and statutory changes; and
3. Assessing CSG South member state retirement
   systems’ handling of the “13th Check.”

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