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Quarterly Public-Employee Retirement Systems Survey

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You are here: About the SurveyGovernments Programs › Quarterly Public-Employee Retirement Systems Survey

PURPOSE

To provide summary data on the assets, revenue, and expenditure of the largest public-employee retirement systems. The United States Code, Title 13, authorizes this survey and provides for voluntary responses.

COVERAGE

Coverage is for 100 largest state and local government public-employee retirement systems, which comprise about 85 percent of national activity among such entities.

CONTENT

Data are collected on the financial holdings and activities of the largest public employment retirement systems. The financial holdings data show assets in various types of securities such as stocks, bonds, federal notes, and mortgages. Revenue data consist of earnings, as well as contributions from governments and employees. Expenditure data are primarily payments to beneficiaries and administrative costs.

FREQUENCY

Data collection starts at the beginning of each calendar quarter and continues for about 3 months. Data have been collected quarterly since 1968. Asset amounts are as of the end of each calendar quarter (March, June, September, December). Revenue collected and payments made represent transactions during the preceding calendar quarter.

METHODS

A mail-out/mail-back survey of the 100 largest state and local government employee retirement systems. All respondents are given the option of submitting their data using our Web based instrument on the Internet.

Systems are selected based on the value of their assets as shown in the most recent Census of Governments. Systems are selected to account for about 85 percent of the financial activity of all state and local retirement systems. One hundred systems are in the current survey panel. The panel is drawn from a universe of about 2,200 public employee retirement systems and is updated after each census.

PRODUCTS

Finances of Selected State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems is a quarterly survey that provides national summary data on the revenues, expenditures, and composition of assets of the largest state and local government employee retirement systems.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Provides the most current data about investment decisions by public employee retirement systems, which are among the largest types of institutional investors in U.S. financial markets.

USES

The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses these data to update the governments sectors of the Gross Domestic Product accounts. The Federal Reserve Board uses the data in developing the flow of funds accounts. Investment bankers and analysts monitor the data to assess changes in the investment patterns of public-employee retirement systems. Public policy specialists and economists use the data in econometric models that assess general economic conditions and state and local government financial activities.

RELATED PROGRAMS

Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances

State and Local Government Public-Employee Retirement System Survey

Annual Public Employment Survey


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