Zachary Christensen
Managing Director, Pension Integrity Project
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 provides education, reform policy options, and actuarial analysis for policymakers and stakeholders to help them design reform proposals that are practical and viable.
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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State pension plan funded ratios in 2020
Most state pension plans saw significant drops in funding in the last two decades.
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Pension Reform Newsletter: State pension plans change investment return assumptions, how to improve Florida’s retirement plan, and more
Plus: Historical analysis of state pension plan funded ratios and comparisons between public and private sector teacher retirement benefits.
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Testimony: Recommendations for the FRS Investment Plan
Adjustments to Florida's public defined contribution retirement plan could better serve employees and taxpayers.
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Pension Reform Newsletter: How strong investment returns impact public pension funding
Plus: New York lowers its investment return expectations, problems for Ohio's teacher plan, new pension reports from Pew and Equable, and more.
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Three reasons why public pensions still need reform
Despite realizing excellent investment returns in 2021, public pension plans are still in need of reforms to prevent future debt and ensure they can pay out promised benefits.
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Pension Reform Newsletter: Leveraging airports to improve pension solvency, the future of reform in Pennsylvania, and more
Plus: Solutions to Montana’s pension challenges, comparing U.S. and Canadian public pensions, and more.
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Colorado’s pension debt may be worse than policymakers think
A change to PERA's mortality assumptions, which more accurately project the length of time current members will be drawing benefits from the plan, added $3.1 billion in liabilities.
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Colorado’s Missed Pension Payment Could Cost Taxpayers Millions
One simple solution—especially with the state sitting on a massive surplus—would be a prompt make-up payment.
