Statement on Efforts in Alaska to Restore Pension Benefits to Address Grave Workforce Shortage

Alaska legislators fail to override governor’s veto of public pension bill

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak (left) and Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, watch the voting board in the Alaska Legislature as lawmakers vote on a veto override Tuesday, May 19, 2026, for the pension bill, House Bill 78. (Claire Stremple photo/Alaska Beacon)Alaska’s public employees and public school teachers will not have access to pensions this year. In a 33-27 vote Tuesday, the Alaska Legislature failed to override Go…

Statement on Efforts in Alaska to Restore Pension Benefits to Address Grave Workforce Shortage

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the veto of bipartisan legislation passed by the Alaska legislature to provide defined benefit pensions to Alaska's public employees, the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) issued the following statement today…

Dunleavy Vetoes Defined Benefits, Urges Legislature to Commit to Resource Development and Economic Prosperity First

On May 18, 2026, Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed House Bill 78, a bill that would have reestablished a defined benefits retirement plan for public employees. HB 78 had passed the Senate by a vote of 12-8 and the House by 21-19. The Senate Majority had hailed the bill as “a fiscally responsible path to recruit […] The post Dunleavy Vetoes Defined Benefits, Urges Legislature to Commit to Resource Development and Economic Prosperity First appeared fi…