Blog: Alternative Models

Thoughts on llinois Governor Bruce Rauner's proposed changes to the state's under-funded pension plans.
Why would we keep putting new people into poorly funded, poorly designed retirement plans?
Charters are finding innovative alternatives to traditional pensions, offering teachers portable benefits and/or reallocating funds for other forms of compensation.
Giving workers a "nudge" can dramatically impact the number of workers covered by a retirement plan.
Teacher pensions have a similar effect on worker retention as the pensions offered to military members.
Military pensions do not distribute benefits equally and severely shortchange the majority of members. The Department of Defense is now considering switching to a hybrid model.

In honor of National Save for Retirement Week, we've created a Buzzfeed-style quiz to help you better understand teacher retirement plans and the issues around them.

A new Manhattan Institute report looks at whether teachers would prefer a traditional or a smooth-accrual defined benefit plan.
Federal and state leaders have recently proposed a variety of solutions intended to address the need for greater retirement security.
Few states have adopted pure defined contribution plans, but there has been a recent increase in the number of non-traditional retirement plans, including hybrid plans that give employees more flexibility while reducing state financial burdens.