The Survey of Public Pensions: State- and Locally Administered Defined Benefit Data provides revenues, expenditures, financial assets, and membership information for the defined benefit public pensions. Data are shown for individual pension funds and systems as well as at the national, state, and local levels. In 2025, there were 311 state-administered funds and 4,061 locally administered defined benefit public pension systems, all of which are represented here.

Data have been collected annually since 1957. A census is conducted every 5 years in years ending in “2” and “7.” A sample of state and local governments is used to collect data in intervening years.

This survey only covers pension systems that are sponsored by recognized government units (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) whose members are public employees compensated with public funds. In addition to state governments, the Census Bureau defines five types of local governments: county, municipal, township, school district, and special district. Each pension system is considered an agency of one of these larger government units, but the information in this publication reflects only the retirement system portion of revenues, expenditures, and assets.