More than half of public employees in defined benefit pension plans will never receive aPayout

Public pension funds should avoid local economically targeted investments, says Reason Foundation. While some politicians may be tempted by calls for public pensions to invest in local economies, a public pension fund's duty is to provide promised retirement benefits to plan's participants. Public pension fund should not invest in economically-targeted investments, argues Reason Foundation.

Defined contribution and cash balance plans can do a better job of providing benefits to more employees. State and local governments should not continue to support traditional defined benefit-only retirement programs with long vesting periods to the detriment of the retirement security of the many workers