Our vision is an Alaska that continuously grows prosperity by maximizing individual opportunities and freedom
Authored and published by Reason Foundation. Abstract In 2005, Alaska enacted one of the most radical retirement system reforms in the public sector by discontinuing enrollment into its defined-benefit pension plan and creating […]
As is often the case, there was no shortage of bills introduced to the 32nd Legislature (which comprises 2021 and 2022). Not counting resolutions, legislators introduced 690. Those that did not pass both […]
As of 2020, Anchorage faced a financial cliff of $658.7 million, leading Truth in Accounting (TIA) to label it a “sinkhole city” because the municipal government did not have enough assets to cover […]
Experts from Reason Foundation’s Pension Integrity Project recently joined us for a 45-minute discussion on the costs and risks of changes to Alaska’s pension systems. You can watch the recording here (begins 04:30), […]
In 2006, the state of Alaska moved from one type of retirement system (defined benefits pension-DBP) for state employees to a 401(k)-style defined contribution retirement plan. The reason for this switch was concerns […]
According to a report by our network partner, Tax Foundation, Alaska ranks 31st out of 50 states for how well-funded the public pensions are. As of 2020, one year after the Tax Foundation […]
Since 2006, Alaska has made great strides in addressing the unfunded liability of the state-administered pension funds. The state was a trailblazer at the time for ending defined benefits options for new state […]
Do you have an extra $45,689 for you and every member of your family (including kids)? That’s your share of the shortfall in Alaska’s unfunded public pensions. Alaskan Win Gruening writes in MustRead […]
The Alaska Journal of Commerce (AJOC) has published three very interesting pieces this week focusing on teacher pay, performance bonuses and student performance. All pieces are very readable to the lay person. In “Small […]
True to one of our guiding principles that government should be limited and as transparent as possible, we are providing the most recent annual payroll for the Municipality of Anchorage. We believe it […]
In a large statewide poll conducted by Hellenthal and Associates in the spring of 2017, Alaskan voters agreed with the following statement by a two-to-one margin: “The state budget needs to be drastically […]
Selling up to $5 billion in bonds could either place Alaska further in the red or, as State officials hope, successfully decrease the multi-billion dollar pension unfunded liability. (This is a repost of an article we posted in June 2010)
In 2008, the Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 13, which authorized the selling of bonds (debt) for investment to fill the $10 billion pension gap in PERS/TRS.
The state of Ohio has a program option called DROP that allows public employees (police officers, firefighters) to “double dip” on their pensions. This report from the Buckeye Institute explains why the program matters to the individual Ohio citizen, and specifically how the system should be changed.
NCPA’s Unfunded Liabilities report takes a sobering look at state pension plans. Alaska’s unfunded liabilities are 42% of the state’s GDP.