All of the Above

Abstract

Public sector pension funding varies significantly across the states, a phenomenon often linked with budget conditions, but do political factors also play a role? Utilizing data collected between 2000 and 2008, this article investigates the role of political, fiscal, and workforce characteristics as determinants of long-term pension funding, a measure with implications for fiscal sustainability and ongoing reform deliberations. Results suggest a significant relationship between pension funding and legislative partisanship, citizen ideology, public school employee coverage, and outstanding state debt. Certain other fiscal variables do not shape pension-funding levels independent of these factors, nor does executive partisanship.