North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum just signed into law House Bill 1040 (HB 1040), major new reform legislation that will put North Dakota’s underfunded defined benefit pension system for public employees on a path to financial solvency. HB 1040 meaningfully addresses the current plan’s perpetually rising pension debt by upgrading to an improved pension funding policy.
At the same time, the bill will remove taxpayer-borne financial risk over time by entering all public employees hired after January 1, 2024, into the state’s defined contribution retirement plan—a quality retirement plan design currently in place, with no risk of generating future unfunded
