About This Project
Over the past few decades, pension systems have become increasingly underfunded. This underfunding has real consequences, as states and districts must contribute more and more each year to keep pace with their ongoing pension obligations to retirees.
This dashboard is the first nationwide, district-level database of public K-12 pension contributions in the United States. It links pension costs to education budgets, harmonizing data across 95 distinct state and local defined-benefit retirement systems. The goal of this effort is to help politicians, policymakers, and the general public better understand how much of associated education expenditures go toward pension contributions and how that has changed over time.
Use the tools below to explore district-level pension data, compare state burdens, analyze funding scenarios, and download state-specific reports.
Explore the Dashboard
Getting Started
New to pension data? Learn how to use this tool with a state-by-state guided walkthrough, showing what the numbers mean and how to interpret them.
Take the tourDistrict Lookup
View pension contributions for any of the ~12,800 school districts across the country. Our data include total contributions, budget share, and state vs. district splits.
Search a districtState Comparisons
Compare pension contributions across all 50 states and Washington D.C. See which states have the highest costs and how they've changed over the last decade.
Compare statesSensitivity Analysis
See how pension costs change under alternative return assumptions or Treasury-yield scenarios.
See scenariosBudget Calculator
Calculate how pension costs affect your district's budget under different discount rate scenarios. Look up your district or run scenarios using your own numbers.
Calculate impactState Reports
Browse state-by-state reports covering funding ratios, financial metrics, and pension system details built for policymakers and journalists.
Browse reportsWhere Are Pension Costs Highest?
Percentage of associated education expenditures consumed by pension contributions (2023). Click a state to explore district-level data →