Policy Solutions for Missouri’s Government Employee Pensions

The Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) has seen its funding health decline in recent years even as the required government contributions to the plan have increased. Policymakers are searching for ways to reform public employee pensions in order to control costs and mitigate risks to government budgets while at the same time maintaining retirement programs that serve retirees. In this essay, Andrew Biggs examines several reform options, including shifting future employees to defined-contribution accounts, and discusses ways that each option would alter current MOSERS policies.