Zachary Christensen
Managing Director, Pension Integrity Project, Reason Foundation
Zachary Christensen is a managing director of Reason Foundation's Pension Integrity Project.
Christensen’s work with Reason's Pension Integrity Project aims to promote solvent, sustainable retirement systems that provide retirement security for government workers while reducing long-term costs for taxpayers and employees. Zachary and his team provide education, reform policy options, and actuarial analysis for policymakers and stakeholders to help them design practical and viable reform proposals.
The Pension Integrity Project has provided technical assistance to several successful pension reform efforts in recent years, including in Michigan, Colorado, Arizona, South Carolina, Texas, and other states tackling persistent pension solvency challenges.
Christensen has contributed to in-depth solvency analysis of the Arizona PSPRS, Arkansas TRS, Louisiana TRSL, Texas ERS, and Texas TRS pension plans.
Christensen's work has been published in the Los Angeles Daily News, Orange County Register, NJ.com, Colorado Politics, and many other publications. He has also been featured in the Carolina Journal and the Michigan Capitol Confidential. His research has been published by the Hoover Institution, The Platte Institute, Texas Public Policy Foundation, and Rio Grande Foundation.
Prior to joining Reason Foundation, Christensen was a pension finance analyst at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where he worked on widely-cited research on the funding status and accounting methods for public sector retirement systems.
Christensen holds an M.S. in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and a B.S. in Political Science from Brigham Young University.
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Pension Reform News: Florida’s proposed cost-of-living adjustment could cost $47 billion over 30 years
Plus: Undoing Alaska reforms would come with significant costs, Kansas considers modernizing retirement plan, and more.
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Kansas Senate Bill 282 would improve retirement options for state employees
Senate Bill 282 establishes the Kansas Retirement Investment and Savings Plan, which would offer a defined contribution retirement benefit for all state employees.
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The Florida Retirement System’s proposed cost-of-living adjustment comes with major costs and risks
The cost-of-living adjustment proposed in Florida House Bill 945 could cost taxpayers over $47 billion over 30 years.
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House Bill 78 exposes Alaska to significant additional costs
This bill could realistically add $11.4 billion in additional costs to future state budgets and reintroduce Alaska to significant pension risk.
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Pension Reform News: Alaska isn’t experiencing a public employee turnover crisis
Plus: San Diego’s avoidable pension problem, an opportunity for public pensions to bolster long-term security, and more.
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A chance for reasonable childhood independence in Georgia
A new Georgia bill will protect parents from overzealous law enforcement and child protective services intervention while promoting childhood independence.
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Pension Reform News: Public pension debt rankings for state and local governments
Plus: California's underfunded pension dives further into investment risk, growing debt on health benefits owed to public workers, and more.
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Pension Reform News: Michigan legislature pushes to undo pension reforms
Plus, a webinar on pension trends and data, Pennsylvania considers increasing COLA benefits, and more.
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Pension Reform News: How to structure an optional defined contribution government plan
Plus: Texas needs to reexamine law restricting firefighter pension reform, budget surpluses provide opportunity to reduce pension debt, and more.
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Best practices in optional defined contribution plans for public workers
Governments expanding their retirement options can offer better benefits to employees and slow the growing costs caused by unfunded public pension liabilities.
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Webinar: Best practices in optional defined contribution plans for public workers
For those looking to implement or improve an optional defined contribution plan to go alongside an existing pension, several key policy decisions are important.
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Pension Reform News: Report finds $1.59 trillion in public pension debt
Plus: The case for Connecticut's fiscal guardrails, hybrid retirement plans are gaining traction, and more.
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Working paper: Best practices in optional defined contribution plans
With the proliferation of unfunded pension liabilities among U.S. governments, optional defined contribution plans can serve as valuable risk mitigation solutions.
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Pension Reform News: What today’s workers need from retirement plans
Plus: The Teachers Retirement System of Georgia needs more reforms, how pension debt impacts other government spending, and more.
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Pension Reform News: Most public employees leave before vesting in pension plans
Plus: Georgia’s teacher pension system needs reform and more.
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Georgia’s teacher pension system needs reforms to address current debt, future risks
The pension plan is still $27.7 billion short on the assets needed to pay for retirement promises made to teachers.
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Pension Reform News: Contribution rates for teachers’ pensions in each state
Plus, how the costs of of teacher pensions are shared by Michigan's state and local taxpayers.
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How much teachers contribute to their retirement benefits in each state
Most states require teachers to pay between 5% and 12% of their pay, with the employer paying what remains to cover the benefit and pension system's debt.
