Pension Information

Montana has nine public pension systems. Eight systems managed by the Public Employees Retirement Administration are Public Employees Retirement System, Judges Retirement System, Highway Patrol Officers Retirement System, Sheriffs' Retirement System, Game Wardens' and Peace Officers Retirement System, Municipal Police Officers Retirement Systems, and the Volunteer Firefighters' Compensation Act. The retirement system for Kindergarten - 12th grade educators is administered by the Teachers' Retirement System.

The State Administration and Veteran's Affairs Interim Committee examines policy related to state employee pay and benefits. The Legislative Finance Committee acts according to the provisions of 5-12-205, MCA.

Assets in the Montana pension systems total $7.6 billion. As of June 30, 2011, there is a $3.9 billion unfunded liability in Montana’s public pension systems. The Actuarially Required Contribution (ARC) is approximately $117.0 million per year higher than the current level of contributions to the systems. Annual state and local spending is about $8 billion. The unfunded liability ($3.9 billion) is just under half of the annual unduplicated spending in state, schools and local government budgets.

Montana Pension Systems	Information on Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
Teachers' Retirement System Public Employees' Retirement Administration	What is GASB? Why is this important to pension systems?
Committee Information	Pension Reports from Staff
Finance Committee Pension Reports: Dec 2011 and Sept 2011 State Administration and Veterans' Affairs Interim Committee	MT Public Employees' Retirement Plans: Summary Tables, March 2012, Megan Moore, Legislative Services Division January 2012 Pension Report, Amy Carlson, Legislative Fiscal Analyst Retirement Eligibility, Greg DeWitt, Senior Fiscal Analyst, Legislative Fiscal Division
Other Reports	Miscellaneous Pension Articles
March 2012 Government Accountability Office, Report to Congressional Requesters: Economic Downturn Spurs Efforts to Address Costs and Sustainability The Underfunding of State and Local Pension Plans, Congressional Budget Office, May 2011 2011 Wilshire Report on State Retirement Systems: Funding Levels and Asset Allocation The Pew Center on the States: The Widening Gap	Governing Publication: Pension Article Courts Block Efforts at Public Pension Change, State News, Governing the States and Localities, February 2012. In Defense of Defined-Benefit Pensions: Modest Reforms to State Plans are Best Option for Taxpayers, February 2012, "This material [article] was created by the Center for American Progress Action Fund""This material was created for the Progress Report, the daily e-mail publication of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Click here to subscribe." Look Before You Leap: The Unintended Consequences of Pension Freezes, National Institute on Retirement Security, October 2008 A Better Bang for the Buck: The Economic Efficiencies of Defined Benefit Pension Plans, National Institute on Retirement Security, August 2008