Systems are selected to account for about 87 percent of the financial activity of all state and local retirement systems. About 100 systems are in the current survey panel. The panel is drawn from a universe of about 2,100 public employee retirement systems and is updated routinely. A single form is used to collect quarterly data. Summary tables show national financial transactions in the largest public employee retirement systems and trends for the past 5 years.
Reports consist of viewable tables and data files that users can download from the Internet.
The Federal Reserve Board uses the data in developing the flow of funds accounts. Investment bankers and analysts monitor the data to assess changes in the investment patterns of public-employee retirement systems. Public policy specialists and economists use the data in econometric models that assess general economic conditions and state and local government financial activities.