Giving thanks for pensions

The financial ripple effect of a retirement benefit that reliably delivers

By Michael Pramik, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System

Nov. 26, 2025 – In this season of gratitude, it’s worth pausing to recognize how traditional defined-benefit pensions deliver far more than individual peace of mind — they’re also economic anchors.

The Pensionomics 2025 report finds that in 2022 defined-benefit pensions paid an estimated $680.6 billion to private- and public-sector retirees. In addition to benefiting recipients, that steady income stream fueled local businesses, jobs, tax revenue and community stability.

When retirees receive a pension, they spend the money locally on items such as groceries, dining, health care services and retail goods. That spending becomes someone else’s income, which they then might spend again. The Pensionomics report says that each dollar paid in pension benefits supports $2.28 in total economic output.

Moreover, for state and local DB pension plans where taxpayer contributions are a fraction of the total, the report finds that every dollar of taxpayer investment supports about $7.79 in total national output.

Imagine the pension check as part of the Thanksgiving table spread. It’s not a flashy dish, but it arrives consistently, enabling the purchase of life’s essentials, independent of stock-market swings. The report underlines that DB pensions are particularly resilient: Retirees don’t have to time the market; they receive income reliably year-after-year, which means more-stable spending and less economic drop-off in downturns.

The report estimates that DB pension spending in 2022 generated $1.5 trillion in economic output, supported 7.1 million jobs and helped generate about $224.3 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue. In other words, the retirement payments don’t just help retirees — they help entire communities, keeping main-streets humming and tax bases steady.

The Ohio section of the report noted that in 2022, defined-benefit pension payments totaled $16.7 billion to state residents. Those payments supported $22.8 billion in total economic output in Ohio and generated $3.5 billion in tax revenues.

In Ohio, each dollar paid out in pension benefits supported $1.36 in economic activity within the state, and each dollar of taxpayer contribution to those pensions supported about $5.90 in output.

So, when reflecting on what we’re grateful for this Thanksgiving, consider the value of a secure pension. It’s a contract of service rewarded, but it’s also a civic asset, a stabilizer for economies and a contributor to public goods.

People who earned and receive DB pensions are part of the well-being in their neighborhoods and states. And in a time when defined-benefit programs are increasingly rare, that under-the-radar value becomes even more worthy of thanks.