Annual Survey of Public Pensions: State Data

Population of Interest: 2011

The survey coverage for the Annual Survey of Public Pensions: State-Administered Defined Benefit Data includes public pension systems administered by state governments throughout the nation. For Census Bureau statistical purposes, a public pension system is one that is financed by a separate accounting fund of the administering government, excluding pay-as-you-go insurance plans. It must have some type of assured revenue stream or dedicated revenue source other than appropriations from the administering government.

Other criteria exist for membership, such as funding and organization. A public pension system's members must consist of current or former public employees who are eligible for inclusion in the Employment component of the Census of Governments (CoG). A retirement system must have at least one separate identifiable fund within a recognized government unit, and it must be funded completely or partially with public contributions. A pension system must also be recognized as a government unit (as defined by the Census Bureau) that provides revenues, expenditures, financial assets, and membership information for public pension systems.

Each state-administered pension system is considered an agency of the corresponding state government; however, the information in this publication reflects only the pension system portion of revenues, expenditures, and assets.

The sampling frame is the 2007 Census of Governments file updated with births, deaths, and mergers since fiscal year 2007. The state data product is comprised of all 222 state-administered defined benefit pension systems.