business man closing door on flames Existing pension underfunding only grew worse once the plans were closed. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Even though some states have followed the trend of private industry in closing defined benefit plans in favor of an alternative such as defined contribution or cash balance plans, it hasn’t helped either those states or their retirees.

So says a study from the National Institute on Retirement Security, which found instead that trying to head off problems such as underfunded pension plans and even difficulty in recruiting new workers were instead amplified.

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Marlene Satter

Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.

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