The growing fiscal cost of K-12 teacher pension plans and pension-induced labor market distortions have led to calls for teacher pension reforms. Dynamic structural econometric models are a useful way to analyze the fiscal and staffing consequences of current and alternative retirement plans. This article lays out the benefits of the structural…

While it is generally understood that defined benefit pension systems concentrate benefits on career teachers and impose costs on mobile teachers, there has been very little analysis of the magnitude of these effects. The authors develop a measure of implicit redistribution of pension wealth among teachers at varying ages of separation. Compared…

There is significant interest in reforming retirement plans for public school employees, particularly in light of current market conditions. This article presents an overview of the various types of state regulation of public pension plans that affect possibilities for reform. Nearly all of the various approaches to public pension plan protection…

Most public elementary and high school teachers are covered by health insurance provided by their employer while they are employed. In most cases, these health plans are managed at the state level. At retirement, teachers with sufficient years of service are allowed to remain in the health plan. Retiree health plans for teachers vary widely across…

Purpose: We examine the methodological and economic policy implications of three operationalizations of retirement migration. Design and Methods: We compared the traditional age-based definition of retirement migration and two retirement-based definitions, based on degree of labor-force participation and retirement income, by using the 2000 U.S.…

Presents evidence that a trade-off exists between wages and certain characteristics of retirement systems in the public sector. Concludes that pension reform legislation in the public sector will likely have an impact on public sector wages and, therefore, careful consideration should be given to the design of such legislation. (Author/CT)

Faulty laws, unfair practices, and years of tradition in the workplace keep women from economic equality. The Economic Equity Act proposed by Congress will address inequalities in tax and retirement matters, the need for better dependent care, nondiscrimination in insurance, regulatory reform, and child support enforcement. (IS)