The Impact of Pensions on State Borrowing Costs
February 14, 2011
The brief’s key findings are:
- Both public pensions and municipal bonds are in the headlines.
- An important question is how pensions affect municipal bond rates.
- Our analysis of 37,500 bond issues found that pensions raise rates by a modest 3-7 basis points.
- However, if pension costs rise as a share of state budgets, this impact could increase in the future.
- Interestingly, pensions do not appear to have an impact on bond ratings.
Downloads
Citation
Munnell, Alicia H., Jean-Pierre Aubry, and Laura D. Quinby. 2011. "The Impact of Pensions on State Borrowing Costs" Issue in Brief 14. Chestnut Hill, MA: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Other Project Publications
Topics
