This week, some of the details of a proposed pension reform plan were revealed, and the changes would include placing new hires into a defined contribution type plan.  There would also be changes for current workers for benefits that have not yet been attained, which would likely test the contract impairment language of the state Constitution.

As of now, it is quite rare for a state to mandate that all state employees be placed into a defined contribution plan.  That’s the case in Alaska, and Michigan did that for state workers.  There are mandatory hybrid plans (note that a recent proposal for municipal pension plans would have been a cash balance approach, which is a hybrid), optional defined contribution plans, and optional hybrid plans that vary in terms of characteristics and to which type of employees they apply.