To Enact Pension Reform, Make Good Policy Good Politics

by Ivan Osorio on March 5, 2014

In my previous post, I looked at some basic principles that should guide state policy makers when tackling pension reform. Now, we turn to the politics. And in that regard, Rhode Island’s 2011 pension reform offers a useful example for other states to consider.  In his Brookings study, “Pension Politics: Public Employee Retirement System Reform in Four States,” Drew University political science professor Patrick McGuinn looks at recent reform efforts in four states’ experience in implementing pension reform.

Two of these states—Utah and Rhode Island—enacted significant structural changes to their pension systems while the two others—New Jersey and Illinois—enacted more limited changes that were less innovative.  Drawing lessons from those four states, he then outlines some basic principles for how to implement reform, citing examples……To Read More….