Alaska
Close observers of the United States public pensions landscape know that Alaska is the only state without a defined-benefit (DB) pension plan that guarantees a secure retirement for firefighters, law enforcement, and educators. To make matters worse, Alaska public workers do not receive Social Security benefits.
This year, for the first time in 20 years, legislation to build a new DB pension for Alaska public servants passed the House and Senate. On April 28, 2026, HB78 passed out of the Senate and returned to the House for concurrence. Following a contentious hearing, the House approved the Senate’s amendments to reduce the PERS employer contribution cap to 22.5%, impose a one-time option for local school districts and municipalities to opt out of the new pension plan, and give them six months to make their decision.
The bill was delivered to Governor Dunleavy on April 30. With just over two weeks to sign or veto HB78, Dunleavy met with legislative leadership and pension experts, simultaneously tying the bill to advancing a gas pipeline tax break bill. On May 18, after the legislature failed to advance pipeline legislation, Gov. Dunleavy ultimately vetoed the pension bill, and the legislature failed to pass a veto override the following day.
While the 2025-2026 Alaska legislative session did not deliver the retirement security Alaska’s public workforce deserves–and needs–it brought pensions into the spotlight and closer to the finish line than ever. To read the full story of HB78, check out our detailed breakdown, Alaska’s Road to Retirement Security: The Rise and Fall of HB 78.
Arizona
Teachers are facing intense attacks in Arizona. Pension advocates are concerned that HCR2040, a proposed ballot initiative, could dramatically expand penalties against teachers involved in organized workplace actions, including the potential revocation of state pension benefits. The Arizona proposal follows the 2018 “Red for Ed” teacher walkout, when tens of thousands of educators rallied for higher pay and increased school funding.
HCR2040 would have punitive implications on educators, including losing their jobs, healthcare, forfeiting their earned defined benefit pensions, and being barred from any future public employment in AZ. If passed by the Arizona Senate, the proposal would go directly to voters as a ballot initiative in November.
The Arizona State Legislature adjourns on June 30, 2026.
Colorado
In November, Governor Jared Polis’s initial budget proposal included a $38 million cut to PERA’s State Division. The potential long-term impact on PERA could have culminated in up to $180 million in losses. Coalition advocacy and organized public testimony successfully lobbied legislative leaders to reject the Governor’s request. In February, the Joint Budget Committee ultimately rejected the Polis proposal.
Secure PERA – Colorado’s multi-union pension advocacy coalition – successfully shepherded passage of HB1146 this year, which will expand PERA benefits to employees at 30 state-approved facility schools that serve approximately 3,000 students with behavioral or special education needs. The coalition also advocated for SB151, a measure to affiliate the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) charter schools with PERA, meaning their employees will now be part of the PERA retirement system. SB151 also expands the PERA Board of Trustees by adding one voting member elected by and from Denver Public Schools, replacing a previously non-voting ex officio member.
The bills were signed into law on April 2, 2026, and May 28, 2026, respectively.
Connecticut
Public employee advocates in Connecticut have been pushing to expand public safety participation in the Connecticut Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (CMERS) for several sessions. This year, lawmakers passed SB298, compelling the Comptroller’s office to conduct a study of the fiscal impacts on municipalities that do not currently provide a defined pension plan to full-time police and firefighters. This bill was signed into law on March 3, 2026.
Kansas
The session in the Kansas legislature failed to take up HB2086, which would have made very modest improvements to KPERS Tier 3 through dividend interest credits–but it also failed to advance. Meanwhile, SB282, Senator Caryn Tyson’s K.R.I.S.P. program, which would have moved all KPERS members to a DC account, also failed to advance, dying in committee on April 10, 2026.
Moving forward, the coalition is determining how to leverage a 2024 interim study that found Tier 3 delivers inadequate benefits, especially compared with neighboring states, into a proactive measure without amplifying opponents’ goal of eliminating the pension system. The midterm elections in Kansas could bring new challenges, as pension-friendly Governor Laura Kelly is term-limited, and a new Governor will take over next year.
Minnesota
Public safety workers in Minnesota had a major win this year with the passage of the omnibus pension bill HF4074.
Among the bill’s provisions included the creation of a Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)-administered pension plan for probation officers and 911 telecommunicators, as well as an annual $12 million appropriation to reduce the PERA Police & Fire cost-of-living adjustment delay to one year, and the establishments of a work group to examine vesting adjustments and the potential inclusion of emergency medical providers in fire relief associations and the Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Plan.
Governor Tim Walz signed HF4074 into law on May 19, 2026.
New York
In New York, unions and public-worker advocates rallied for “Fix Tier 6” reforms to reverse previous benefit cuts made to the retirement system. Enacted in 2012, Tier 6 increased employee contributions, drastically reduced benefits, and forced public employees to work longer to qualify for a full retirement. Advocates argued these changes have created workforce challenges for public employers and reduced the attractiveness of public service careers.
The New York legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul approved a state budget that adjusts Tier 6 to include reductions to pension contribution rates for many public workers across several salary bands, an increased overtime cap used in final average salary calculations, and a reduction in minimum retirement age for educators.
Ohio
The Ohio State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) continues to experience turmoil in its governing board. Litigation to prevent Governor DeWine’s 11th-hour budget amendment removing elected members from the STRS Board has temporarily placed a hold on those changes, and lawmakers introduced HB719, a bill that will reverse the item in the budget that changed the STRS board makeup.
Additionally, the Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association (ORTA), a grassroots organization that has involved itself with attorney Edward Seidle, participated in the independent film “Pension Fight Club,” which is due to be released later this month.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma legislature passed a budget this session that properly funds pension systems and provides inflation relief to tens of thousands of retired public employees. Public outcry following the Senate’s original spending proposal, which included a funding cap on the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), prompted hundreds of educators to contact their representatives, forcing lawmakers to reconsider the proposal’s possible consequences for the system and retirees. Coalition advocacy led to a swift turnaround legislatively.
Key pension improvements, which will now become law, include:
- Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs): Providing adjustments for many retirees across multiple systems, including teachers, police, firefighters, judges, and public employees—structured to maintain the financial integrity of each system.
- Protection of Dedicated TRS Funding: Maintaining Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) dedicated revenue, a key factor in the system’s continued progress toward full funding, and reinforcing Oklahoma’s commitment to responsible pension management.
- Targeted Support for ‘Tweener’ Retirees (Police and Firefighters): Addressing a long-standing gap affecting a specific group of police officers and firefighters who fall between prior plan structures and have not benefited from past enhancements.
Wyoming
This year, Wyoming legislators passed HB34, legislation that expands participation in the fire protection pension plan to certain full-time employees engaged in firefighting and wildland firefighting roles within Wyoming state agencies, including the Wyoming National Guard Fire Department crash and rescue units. Lawmakers also passed HB41, which enhanced retirement and death benefits for surviving dependents of state law enforcement officers from the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Capitol Police, and the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) who are killed in the line of duty.
A budget amendment that would have provided a one-time, 1% “13th check” for Wyoming public employee retirees did not survive the Joint Conference Committee this year. Retirees in Wyoming last received a permanent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in 2008–nearly two decades ago. Wyoming state law requires that the Wyoming Retirement System cannot issue a COLA until the system reaches 100% funding. This has left many public retirees with severely diminished purchasing power.
Additionally, the Wyoming Coalition for a Healthy Retirement was instrumental in advocating for the veto of HB178. This anti-labor bill would have prohibited any public employer from deducting union dues, fees, assessments, or contributions directly from an employee’s paycheck on behalf of a labor organization, political action committee, political organization, political committee, or any candidate for office. Violating this provision would have resulted in a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine or jail time. Though the Freedom Caucus-controlled legislature passed the bill on March 5, 2026, Governor Mark Gordon issued a veto on March 10.