Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on public pension plans in four states.

GAO found that: (1) boards of trustees and their staffs administer public pension plans; (2) each board establishes policy and appoints a chief administrative officer responsible for hiring and overseeing the staff that carries out the plan's daily operations; (3) two plans have a single board and staff responsible for all aspects of plan administration, and the other two plans have two separate boards and staff; (4) plan fiduciaries include both individuals responsible for overall administration and those involved with daily investment activities; (5) the plans are funded on actuarial bases by annual employee and employer contributions as determined by the boards; (6) the boards of trustees establish investment parameters; (7) all the plans' investment policies tend to reflect similar concerns, such as the inflation rate; (8) only one plan's investment is limited by state law, and another state encourages its plan to invest some funds locally; and (9) all plans report annually to the governors and legislatures and provide reports to plan participants on the status of the participants' individual accounts.