Leonard Gilroy is vice president of government reform at Reason Foundation and senior managing director of Reason's Pension Integrity Project.
Under Gilroy's leadership, the Pension Integrity Project at Reason Foundation assists policymakers and other stakeholders in designing, analyzing and implementing public sector pension reforms. The project aims to promote solvent, sustainable retirement systems that provide retirement security for government workers while reducing taxpayer and pension system exposure to financial risk and reducing long-term costs for employers/taxpayers and employees. The project team provides education, reform policy options, and actuarial analysis for policymakers and stakeholders to help them design reform proposals that are practical and viable.
Gilroy and the Pension Integrity Project have provided technical assistance to several successful pension reform efforts in recent years in Michigan, Colorado, Arizona, South Carolina and other states aimed at tackling persistent pension solvency challenges.
In his role as vice president, Gilroy also leads Reason's government reform efforts, with over 18 years of experience researching fiscal management, government operations, infrastructure public-private partnerships, government contracting, and urban policy topics. He also regularly consults with federal, state and local officials on ways to improve government performance and efficiency.
Gilroy has a diversified background in policy research and implementation, with particular emphasis on competition, government efficiency, transparency, accountability, and government performance. Gilroy has testified before Congress on several occasions and has testified on pension reform before the Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Texas legislatures. Gilroy works closely with state and local elected officials across the country in efforts to design and implement market-based policy approaches, improve government performance, enhance accountability in government programs, and reduce government spending.
Gilroy's articles have been featured in such leading publications as The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The Weekly Standard, Washington Times, Houston Chronicle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Arizona Republic, San Francisco Examiner, San Diego Union-Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sacramento Bee, and The Salt Lake Tribune. He has also appeared on CNN, Fox News Channel, Fox Business, CNBC, National Public Radio and other media outlets.
Prior to joining Reason, Gilroy was a senior planner at a Louisiana-based urban planning consulting firm. He also worked as a research assistant at the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech. Gilroy earned a B.A. and M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Tech.
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Cash Balance Retirement Plan Would Offer Texas Workers Guaranteed Retirement Benefits
Both traditional defined benefit and cash balance retirement plan designs are examples of guaranteed return retirement plans that provide retirees a protected stream of lifetime income.
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How Would Senate Bill 321 Effect Texas’ Public Employee Recruitment and Retention
Only 14 percent of Texas new hires under 35 today are expected to serve a full career and receive an unreduced retirement benefit.
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Analysis of South Carolina Senate Bill 176
Senate Bill 176 would provide new hires a secure and attractive retirement plan that better protects the state's taxpayers.
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Analysis of Texas Senate Bill 321
Senate Bill 321 could save the state as much as $15 billion in long term costs and ensure that new employees' retirement benefits are fully funded.
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How to Make Positive Changes to the South Carolina Retirement System
This series of one-pagers aims to explain how a state can transition to a new retirement plan design, the benefits of expanding retirement plan choice for South Carolina's workers, and more.
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Montana Public Employee Retirement System (MPERS) Pension Solvency Analysis
The Montana Public Employee Retirement System public pension plan is only 74 percent funded.
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North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System Pension Solvency Analysis
The public pension plan has only 68 percent of the assets needed to fully fund the system in the long-term.
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Defined Contribution Plans: Best Practices in Design and Utilization
If properly designed, defined contribution plans can meet the employee retirement needs of today’s evolving and dynamic public sector workforce.
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New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Pension Solvency Analysis
New Mexico's Educational Retirement Board has $7.9 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
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Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS) Pension Solvency Analysis
The Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System has only 64 percent of the assets needed to fully fund the pension system.
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Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana Pension Solvency Analysis
The latest, official numbers reveal that the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana now has over $10 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
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Teacher Retirement System of Texas Solvency Analysis
Investment returns failing to meet unrealistic expectations have been the largest contributor to the public pension plan's unfunded liabilities, adding over $30 billion in debt since 2001.
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Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System Solvency Analysis
Recent reforms to the public safety personnel public pension system are showing significant savings and increased retirement security for employees.