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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Colorado Considers Reducing Pension Contributions in Response to Budget Concerns
If pension contribution policies are adjusted it would result in the addition of significant long-term costs and a public pension plan that is no longer en route to full funding.
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Arkansas Teacher Retirement System Pension Solvency Analysis
Investment returns failing to meet unrealistic expectations has been the single largest contributor to unfunded liability growth, adding $1.9 billion in debt to ATRS since 2000.
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Seeking Pension Resiliency
National public pension funding barely improved over the last decade despite a historic bull market. It would be false hope to think that we will invest our way out of the current crisis. It’s time to think differently.
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Examining Yavapai County and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
Yavapai County’s total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about $587,000 per year in 2001 to over $8 million in 2018.
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Examining the City of Bisbee and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
The city of Bisbee's total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about $100,000 per year in 2001 to over $1.6 million in 2018.
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Examining the City of Globe and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
The city of Globe's total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about $115,000 per year in 2001 to over $1.8 million in 2018.
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Examining the City of Sedona and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
The city's total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about $179,000 per year in 2001 to almost $3 million in 2018.
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The Town of Gilbert and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
The town of Gilbert's total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about $1 million per year in 2001 to almost $18 million in 2018.
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Examining the City of Prescott and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
Prescott's total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about half a million dollars per year in 2001 to more than $7 million in 2018.
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Map: Comparing State Pension Plans’ Assumed Rates of Return
This visualization shows how states have been gradually adjusting their assumed rates of return down to more realistic levels.
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How Pension Debt Is Driving Rising Costs for Arizona’s Municipal Governments
This series of briefs explores the impact the Arizona State Retirement System and state’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System have on city and county budgets in Arizona.
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Examining the City of Scottsdale and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
Scottsdale's total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from $1.6 million per year in 2001 to around $25 million in 2018, with $11 million going to ASRS and $14 million going to PSPRS.
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Examining the City of Chandler and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
Chandler's total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about $1.4 million per year in 2001 to around $23 million in 2018.
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Examining the City of Mesa and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
The city’s total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from less than $4 million per year in 2001 to more than $57 million in 2018.
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Examining Coconino County and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
Coconino County’s total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about $0.8 million per year in 2001 to more than $13 million in 2018.
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Examining Maricopa County and How Pension Debt Drives Rising Costs for Arizona Municipal Governments
The county’s total payments to ASRS and PSPRS have skyrocketed from about $10 million per year in 2001 to more than $142 million in 2018.
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California’s Pension Systems Need To Continue Lowering Return Expectations and Reducing Risk
CalPERS achieved an investment return of 6.7 percent during the latest fiscal year, and similarly, CalSTRS saw a 6.8 percent net return, both short of the 7 percent benchmark established by their managing boards.
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Pension Reform Newsletter: California’s Risk, Reforms for New Mexico, Arizona’s Credit Upgrade, and More
Plus: Why millennials should worry about public pension debt, how overly optimistic investment return assumptions are hurting Florida, and the latest on Louisiana's pension system for teachers.
