2026 Public Retirement Systems Study (When You Hire a New Pension Manager)

(Illustrative Only)

After years of mismanagement
the pension board 
decided to take a new route
in hiring so they opened
up their short list by
offering a free sandwich to
people who look 
like they just hang out at 
the beach. The "policies"
say they have to interview
more than one candidate. 
They got this one covered.😏
A free sandwich is a free 
sandwich!

When asked why 
he was qualified
to be a pension manager 
Jerry thought and then retorted, 
"Once I saw a tourist
drop a $100 bill on
the sidewalk and
instead of keeping it,
I returned it to him
and gave him some
 sound investment advice.
That same tourist
and his family were vacationing
the following year and
saw Jerry sitting
under a palm tree. The man
walked over and
said he took Jerry's advice
and tripled his money. He
bought Jerry a coconut
water because it has
antioxidants and is good
for the skin. The man
was happy Jerry took the 
the time to say 
something about trends
and suppliers or something..."

The hiring committee
looked at each other in
confusion as to Jerry's
simpleton unqualified answer
and then unanimously 
decided to hire
the person they
hung out with for years at their
 exclusive social club. 🙃
🍾🏸 At least that person givens
them nice holiday gifts. They
don't want people who 
expect free sandwiches. Eww
icky! So tacky! Those
are like the flip flop
wearers. 🩴

(Sorry my sad 
attempt at putting
comedy in my articles)

Seriously,
hire the best
and brightest and
not the most 
connected for important
roles.

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Retirement is something most people eventually look forward to, although not everyone plans to fully step away from work. Personally, I do not really plan on retiring completely because I enjoy staying active and productive. If virtual work continues to expand, many Americans may choose to work longer, especially in flexible or part-time roles that could improve the financial picture. Advances in technology, virtual education/training, and remote employment could significantly extend working lives for people who want to remain engaged beyond traditional retirement ages.

Yikes! I wend down a rabbit hole. 😬 Sorry.....

Pensions remain an important topic because they continue to affect millions of workers and retirees. While pensions can be expensive and are not always managed effectively, they were created to provide long-term financial security for employees who dedicated years of service to an organization. Many pension systems were established during periods when lifelong employment with one employer was far more common. Today, workers often move between jobs and industries more frequently, which has contributed to the shift away from traditional pensions toward other retirement models. 🤢🤮

Although I am not a pension expert, understanding the basics is important, especially for future executives, policymakers, and administrators who may oversee these systems. Reviewing pension studies and reports can provide valuable insight into how pension systems are performing, including investment returns, funding levels, technological modernization, and the growing use of artificial intelligence to improve fraud detection, forecasting, and system management.

Staying informed about these trends helps organizations adjust strategies and better prepare for long-term financial obligations. At the same time, it is important to remember that many workers planned their futures around the retirement benefits they were promised. When pension benefits are reduced or altered unexpectedly, it can feel like a broken promise to employees who spent decades contributing to those systems. 🙅

This is one reason why strong leadership and ethical management are critical in pension administration. Pension systems involve enormous amounts of money and require highly skilled professionals capable of making responsible long-term decisions. Hiring qualified and trustworthy individuals to manage these funds should always take priority over political favoritism or personal connections. In cases where cronyism, corruption, or poor planning have influenced pension management, significant financial losses have sometimes followed, creating challenges for retirees, taxpayers, and local governments alike.

Many cities and public agencies continue to face concerns about the long-term costs of pension obligations and how those costs affect public budgets. However, the responsibility for those financial challenges should not fall unfairly on workers who were promised retirement security. Instead, accountability belongs to the individuals and institutions responsible for properly funding, managing, and projecting pension systems over time. Market decline is one thing and mismanagement another. More of a moral argument then a legal one.

Ultimately, pensions represent both a financial and moral responsibility. Understanding how they function, how they are managed, and how they evolve will remain important as organizations and governments continue adapting to changing economic conditions and workforce trends.

NCPERS 2026 Public Retirement Systems Study: Trends in Fiscal, Operational, and Business Practices

• The 2026 study by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems analyzed data from 149 public retirement systems serving approximately 18.1 million members nationwide.
• Public pension systems reported average one-year investment returns of 10.2% and ten-year returns of 7.5% for systems with fiscal years ending in the first half of 2025.
• Systems that consistently received their full actuarially determined contributions had median funded ratios that were 13.2 percentage points higher than systems that did not receive full contributions.
• Pension funds modestly reduced equity investments and increased fixed-income allocations in response to market volatility, rising interest rates, and changing capital market expectations.
• Average discount rates declined to 6.67%, while amortization periods averaged 18.6 years across responding systems.
• Approximately 24.4% of pension systems reported using layered amortization strategies to improve long-term funding management.
• Artificial intelligence adoption increased significantly, with over 35% of respondents using AI tools for functions such as fraud detection, actuarial forecasting, participant communication, and data modeling.
• Major leadership priorities identified in the study included maintaining funding stability, modernizing pension administration systems, improving cybersecurity, and enhancing fraud prevention measures.
• The report emphasized that public pensions continue to play a major role in economic stability and retirement security while operating as long-term investment institutions.

National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. (2026). Public retirement systems study: Trends in fiscal, operational, and business practices — 2026 edition. https://www.ncpers.org/file/secure/ncpers-2026-public-retirement-systems-study.pdf