Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! We have gathered the top stories about pensions and retirement security from the previous week.
With the economy again showing signs of tariff-driven turbulence, investment returns and asset strategies are in the news. Also, this week in Oklahoma, a legislative committee heard testimony from representatives of the Reason Foundation’s Pension Integrity Project and TIAA, who offered compliments to the Oklahoma Public Employees’ Retirement System (OPERS) and the Empower Pathfinder program. What is going on here?
Pensions “crushed it” despite increasing economic uncertainty
The American economy is showing early signs of a downturn, at least as far as job seekers are concerned. Marketplace reports, “first-time claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 11,000 last week, more than expected, to hit 235,000, the most since mid-June.”
Meanwhile, according to a headline in Yahoo Finance, “America’s Pensions Just Crushed Wall Street–And Hardly Anyone Noticed.” In terms of why Yahoo Finance thinks pensions “crushed,” it’s because S&P Global Ratings notes that public pension funds will post returns between 11% and 12% for the fiscal year ended in June. This year’s performance follows a 17% gain in fiscal 2024, which is well above the 7% standard return that plans aim for.
The Power of Money
Public pensions collectively hold nearly $9 trillion in assets. At the end of last year, Americans collectively held the same amount in their 401(k)s as public employee pensions had in their coffers. So far in 2025, public pensions have remained steady, while Americans collectively have less in their 401(k)s than they did in December.
The impact of the $9 trillion public pensions isn’t just about asset growth for the pensioners themselves; it’s about how that money is invested and the power associated with it is yielded. Thursday, a coalition of U.S. labor unions pushed state financial officers managing public pension funds to oppose executive pay for Elon Musk, a former Administration official and part Tesla (TSLA) CEO, arguing that the extravagant cost of the compensation package poses a risk to workers’ pension savings. The group, including the American Federation of Teachers, is pressuring state officials to reject Musk’s new pay plans and push for stronger board independence at the EV carmaker.
Oklahoma Convenes Interim Self-Congratulatory Hearing
A presentation given this week to the Oklahoma Retirement and Government Resources committee by the so-called “Pension Integrity Project” at the billionaire-funded Reason Foundation included some interesting language. On page two, they applaud Oklahoma leaders for “Keeping Promises” and paying “100% of the benefits earned and accrued by active workers and retirees.” At NPPC, we appreciate their sentiments, especially since our coalition there is called Keeping Oklahoma’s Promise. So we’ll consider that a win.
Ray Carter, writing for the Koch Brothers-funded Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, heralded the meeting as an opportunity to hail Oklahoma as “a leader on state pension reform.” Carter also notes the testimony of Caren Lock, a managing director with national financial services firm TIAA-CREF, who praised the committee, saying, “What you did, starting in 2010 all the way to now, really is the gold standard for other states to look at.”
We at NPPC know it’s not usually safe for public pensions when TIAA and Reason join in, and this time their crew includes Empower. So what are they up to?
A clue may be in the Reason presentation, after touting the availability of their pro-bono lobbying assistance, that “Lawmakers should seek to modernize Pathfinder further.” Who knows precisely what that means, but we will soon find out. There’s usually more than one Reason when this circus of billionaire and corporate-funded propaganda artists comes to town.
Be sure to check back next Friday for the latest in the fight for a secure retirement! For now, sign up for NPPC News Clips to receive daily pension news from across the country directly to your inbox.