TY  - JOUR
AU  - Clark, Robert
AU  - Morrill, Melinda S
TI  - The Funding Status of Retiree Health Plans in the Public Sector
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 16450
PY  - 2010
Y2  - October 2010
DO  - 10.3386/w16450
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16450
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16450.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Robert L. Clark
Poole College of Management
Box 7229
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695
Tel: 919/515-4568
Fax: 919/515-6943
E-Mail: robert_clark@ncsu.edu

Melinda S. Morrill
Department of Economics
North Carolina State University
Campus Box 8110
Raleigh, NC 27695-8110
E-Mail: melinda_morrill@ncsu.edu
M1  - published as Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler Morrill. "The Funding Status of Retiree Health Plans in the Public Sector," in Jeffrey R. Brown and Robert L. Clark, organizers, "The Economics of State and Local Pensions" Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, volume 10, issue 2, (Cambridge University Press) (2011)

M3  - presented at "State and Local Pensions Conference", August 19-20, 2010
AB  - While no longer common in the private sector, most public sector employers offer retiree health insurance (RHI) as a retirement benefit to their employees.  While these plans are thought to be an important tool for employers to attract, retain, motivate, and ultimately retire workers, they represent a large and growing cost.  This paper reviews what is currently known about RHI in the public sector, while highlighting many important unanswered research questions.  The analysis is informed by detailed data from states on their liabilities associated with RHI, which were produced in accordance with the 2004 Government Accounting Standards Board Rule 45 (GASB 45).  We consider the extent of the unfunded liabilities states face and explore what factors may explain the variation in liabilities across states.  The importance and sustainability of RHI plans in the public sector ultimately depends on how workers view and value this post-retirement benefit, yet little is known about how RHI directly impacts the public sector labor market.  We conclude with a discussion of the future of RHI plans in the public sector.
ER  -