Over the last two decades, twenty-two states have moved away from traditional defined benefit (DB) pension systems and toward pension plan structures like the defined contribution (DC) plans now prevalent in the private sector. Others are considering such a reform as it is seen as a means of limiting future pension funding risk. It is important to…

Defined benefit (DB) pension systems determine the size of pension payments using an employee's "final average salary". Thus, employees enrolled in DB pension systems face an incentive to "salary spike" -- strategically increase late career pensionable compensation -- to increase their retirement income. This is an important…

Public pension systems in many U.S. states face large funding short-falls, and policymakers have considered moving toward defined contribution (DC) pension structures in the interest of reducing the likelihood of future shortfalls. Concerns exist, however, that such changes might increase levels of employee turnover. The empirical evidence on the…

Longitudinal administrative data generated by public education systems in the United States have become increasingly available and have tremendous potential to inform policy research. While it is tempting to take the accuracy of administrative data for granted, there are reasons why researchers should approach these data with a degree of caution.…

Traditional defined benefit (DB) pension systems in many states face large funding shortfalls. Movement toward defined contribution (DC) pension structures may reduce the likelihood of future shortfalls, but there is concern that such reforms may have the undesirable effect of increasing employee turnover. In studying patterns of employee turnover…

Most public school teachers in the United States are enrolled in defined benefit (DB) pension plans. Using administrative micro data from four states, combined with national pension funding data, we show these plans have accumulated substantial unfunded liabilities -- effectively debt -- owing to previous plan operations. On average across 49…

Public pension systems in many U.S. states face large funding shortfalls. Movement toward defined contribution (DC) pension structures may reduce the likelihood of future shortfalls. We address some limitations of the existing literature by studying public-sector employees who are enrolled in either a defined benefit (DB) plan or hybrid DB-DC…

As states and localities across the nation consider the tradeoffs between defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension systems, it is important to gain insight into what implications pension reforms might have on workforce composition and teachers' retirement savings behavior. Moreover, it is also important to consider that…

Barriers to mobility, particularly those imposed by state-level licensure procedures have received growing attention in the media and in reform discussions. Much of this attention is driven by shortages of teachers in some regions and subject areas and the fact that barriers to mobility make it more difficult for states to address such shortages…

This paper examines the savings behavior of public school teachers who are enrolled in a hybrid pension plan that includes a defined contribution (DC) component. Few states have incorporated DC features into teacher pension systems and little is known about how providing teachers with greater control over deferred compensation might affect their…

This paper examines a natural experiment in which Washington State teachers were offered the opportunity to choose between enrolling in a traditional defined benefit (DB) plan and a hybrid plan with defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components. We find plan preference is weakly related to estimates of the relative financial benefits of…

In most U.S. states retirement benefits constitute an important component of compensation for public school teachers, and the structure of teacher retirement systems has been the subject of a prominent public policy debate. The prevalence of underfunded state pension systems has resulted in discussion about the prudence of moving from traditional…

This paper studies the pension preferences of Washington State public school teachers by examining two periods of time during which teachers were able to choose between enrolling in a traditional defined benefit plan and a hybrid plan with defined benefit and defined contribution components. Our findings suggest that a large share of teachers are…

In this descriptive paper we detail the structure of two Washington State teacher retirement plans: a traditional defined benefit plan and a hybrid defined benefit-defined contribution plan. We provide preliminary evidence on how retirement plan structures may relate to the choices that teachers make. Our analysis of the financial incentives…

Barriers to the cross-state mobility of the teacher workforce can have undesirable effects on the teacher workforce and student outcomes. While a large literature addresses issues related to within-state mobility, very little is known about patterns of cross-state mobility. This paper addresses that research gap. We describe features of Oregon's…