Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! We have gathered the best stories about pensions and retirement security from the previous week. You need to know this news in the fight for a secure retirement.
NPPC Highlight
As state legislatures wrap up their sessions for the year, we’re breaking down the biggest wins, losses, and threats to public pensions in 2025. From Alaska’s push to restore defined benefit plans to Colorado’s new transparency laws, see what progress was made—and what challenges lie ahead. Read all about it here!
Ohio Police and Fire Funding Bill Aims to Stabilize Systems
It’s been a tumultuous spring for public pension plans in Ohio. In April, we learned the five public pension funds in the Buckeye state showed an aggregated loss of roughly $4 billion since the beginning of the year. The Columbus Dispatch noted, “The pension systems are on a roller coaster of gains and losses as the Trump administration changes the tariff plans.” While markets continue to fluctuate, uncertainty surrounding the ever-changing tariff landscape drives uncertainty.
Ohio House Bill 280 rolled out this week and would require municipalities to contribute more money to police pensions. Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund executive director Mary Beth Foley released a statement saying:
“We are very appreciative of Representative Abrams and Hall and are supportive of House Bill 280, especially the actuarially determined employer contribution method proposed in the bill. This funding method has been favorably commented upon by Americans for Prosperity as well as the Reason Foundation. We have found the current General Assembly willing to listen to ideas to ensure the sustainability of the pension fund for Ohio’s public safety officers. Our house bill passed in December of last year with the vote of 66-25, and a companion bill had been introduced in the Senate. The pension is a promise for labor already performed and service already given. We are confident the General Assembly will support Ohio’s municipal public safety officers.”
Ohio STRS Board Changes
This week, Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman and Senate President Rob McColley appointed financial tech executive Lynn Beal to the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio board. The move comes ahead of an anticipated vote for a new STRS Executive Director. According to News 5 Cleveland and the Ohio Capital Journal, the board position has been vacant since Claudia Herrington completed her term of service earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Retirement Study Council is considering further changes to the governance and composition of the STRS board. Rep. Sean Brennan (D-Parma), a retired teacher, chairs a bipartisan subcommittee evaluating options. Brennan said to NBC4, “I’ve always believed in looking for best practices. So if there is something that we could be doing in Ohio that’s better than what we’re doing now, then why not take a look at it? And as retirees, we paid in and have very much a vested interest in the future of the system. And I think we are required to have a voice, and entitled to a voice.”
Pension Plans Built for a Long-term Horizon
While market upheaval, tariff policies, and political dynamics threaten the long-term security of Ohio public pension plans, NPPC Executive Director Kendal Killian told Ohio News Connection this week that the state’s defined benefit pensions are resilient and set up to weather short-term market swings. “The funds themselves are set up to aim for the long term and to absorb these types of fluctuations,” Killian said.
A Call for Ohioans to Get Involved!
Earlier this month, NPPC helped launch the Ohio Public Pension Coalition (OPPC), a statewide alliance of public employees, retirees, and labor organizations committed to protecting and strengthening Ohio’s public pension systems. The new group unites members of the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT), Ohio Education Association (OEA), Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE), Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio (FOP), Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters (OAPFF), AFSCME Council 8, and the Ohio AFL-CIO. Click here to receive updates from the Ohio Public Pension Coalition. You’ll receive the latest updates on legislation, advocacy opportunities, and news impacting Ohio’s public pensions.
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.