One of MissionSquare Research Institute’s most important initiatives was the establishment of Public Plans Data (PPD) in 2007 in partnership with the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA) supports the initiative by developing data models, validating data, and developing and administering surveys.

This online tool includes data from 2001-2020 from 200 state and local government retirement plans (118 administered at the state level and 82 at the local level). This represents 95 percent of state/local pension assets and members in the United States.

The PPD provides access to quick facts about public pensions at the national, state, system, and plan level, as well as a robust, searchable database on plan contributions, assumptions, and other variables.