Due to rising costs and unfunded liabilities in its traditional public pension system, Alaska was one of the early state pioneers in transitioning newly hired governmental workers into new and financially sustainable retirement plans. In 2005, it became one of the only states to enact legislation shifting all new hires in the public workforce to a pure, 401(k)-style defined contribution (DC) retirement plan which precisely controls costs and eliminates all future risk of unfunded liabilities. Though the DC plan is structured according to industry best practice standards, there have been repeated legislative attempts to reopen Alaska’s two major legacy—and still
