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Publications reviewed in this section are new acquisitions of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Government Finance Review publishes with each citation the name and address of the publisher/distributor. Requests for copies should be addressed to the publisher/distributor, not to GFOA.

Pensions in the Public Sector

Mitchell, Olivia S. and Hustead, Edwin C. (editors)

Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press 2000, 393 pp

Reviewed by Laura Palmer Werneck, Policy Analyst, GFOA Research and Consulting Center, Chicago, Illinois.

Pensions in the Public Sector is a useful guide to government pension planning and administration. Readers, however, need to be patient with the book's organization. Written by multiple authors, this book contains some repetition, different writing styles, and ordering discrepancies. Nonetheless, Pensions in the Public Sector is required reading for pension system managers and policymakers.

Chapters 1 and 2 begin by defining the differences between defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans and by discussing trends in the workplace and challenges that place pressure on governments to switch from defined benefit to defined contribution plans. For instance, the workforce is aging and becoming more mobile. Also discussed are the actuarial valuations and assumptions employers use to measure plan obligations and determine contributions necessary to fund these liabilities over time.