Reports & Publications

As a supplement to the Connecticut School Finance Project’s January 2018 report, Factors Contributing to Health of State Employee Pension Funds, this policy briefing analyzes the health of Connecticut’s Municipal Employee Retirement System (MERS), examines the factors contributing to the system’s relatively healthy current funding level, and discusses the features of the system that differentiate it from other public pension systems, such as Connecticut’s State Employees Retirement System (SERS).

As a supplement to our January 2018 report, Factors Contributing to Health of State Employee Pension Funds, this policy briefing analyzes the health of Connecticut’s Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), examines the factors that led to the system’s current funding level, and discusses the features of the system that differentiate it from other public pension systems, such as Connecticut’s State Employees Retirement System (SERS).

This policy briefing provides an overview of other post-employment benefits (OPEBs) that the State of Connecticut is responsible for paying, and summarizes recent changes in labor agreements that affect these benefits. OPEBs are the benefit packages, not including pensions, received by state or local employees upon retirement. In Connecticut, these benefits are defined as medical, prescription drug, and dental and life insurance.

This report identifies key factors that contribute to the health of state employee pension systems, and uses these key factors to assess and compare the health of state employee pension systems in Connecticut with other peer states.