National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems

The Voice for Public Pensions

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Public Pension Opposition

Despite research showing that pension plans are cost-efficient tools that support public sector worker recruitment and retention while have a positive impact on local economies and revenues, opposition remains as organizations engage in ideologically, politically, or donor-driven activities to diminish public pension sustainability.

NCPERS has developed an objective process to identify the foundations, think tanks, and other nonprofit entities engaging in efforts to undermine public pensions. Each year, NCPERS sends out a request to public plans and industry stakeholders seeking their input on organizations for inclusion (or removal) in this list based on the following criteria:

  • Advocates or advances the claim that public defined benefit plans are unsustainable
  • Advocates for a defined contribution plan to replace the public defined benefit plan
  • Advocates for a poorly designed cash balance plan to replace the public defined benefit plan
  • Advocates for a poorly designed combination plan to replace the public defined benefit plan
  • Links school performance evaluation to whether it sponsors a defined benefit plan to its teachers/ employees
  • Miscellaneous activities to diminish public pension sustainability and retirement security
 
NCPERS staff reviews the submissions and documents the supporting examples. The NCPERS Executive Board reviews this and votes to approve, reject, or modify the proposed list of Public Pension Opposition Groups. 

NCPERS has determined the following foundations, think tanks, and other nonprofit entities engage in ideologically, politically, or donor-driven activities to undermine public pensions. The PDF with documented examples based on the criteria above is available here.
  • Alabama Policy Institute
  • American Enterprise Institute
  • American Legislative Exchange Council
  • Bellweather Education Partners
  • Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions*
  • California Common Sense
  • California Policy Center
  • Equable Institute
  • Florida TaxWatch
  • Goldwater Institute
  • Heartland Institute
  • Heritage Foundation
  • ​Hoover Institution at Stanford University*
  • Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
  • Illinois Policy Institute
  • Independent Institute
  • Jessie Ball DuPoint Fund
  • Laura and John Arnold Foundation
  • MacIver Institute
  • Mackinac Center for Public Policy
  • Manahattan Institute for Public Policy
  • Maryland Public Policy Institute
  • Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation
  • Mercatus Center at George Mason University
  • National Council on Teacher Quality
  • National Right to Work Committee
  • Nelson Rockefeller Institute of Government
  • Platte Institute
  • Pioneer Institute
  • R Street Institute
  • Reason Foundation
  • Secure Illinois Retirements*
  • Show Me Institute
  • Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)
  • Teacherspensions.org
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation
  • Yankee Institute for Public Policy
     
*NEW in 2024