62% of Public Pension Plans Report No Trouble Hiring, and 80% Offer Hybrid Work

Public pension plans are finding it easier to hire and keep staff, according to a survey of 173 plans that together manage $5.9 trillion, published on 2 October 2026. Some 62% of respondents, or 107 of the 173 plans, said they have no difficulty attracting talent. That is up 4.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

The numbers behind the headline

The remaining 38% split into three groups. Some 18.4% said hiring and retention are becoming a problem, 11.7% expect it to become one soon, and 7.9% called it a significant problem. The survey ties the improvement to benefits. Some 80.3% of plans offer flexible hybrid schedules and 72% offer remote work. Pay is also rising: plans project salary increases of 3.7% for the next fiscal year, slightly above the 3.5% inflation rate cited. The survey's authors said remote work lets plans reach people in the main hubs for finance and investment professionals, and that plans in remote locations still struggle most.

Why it matters to a GP

Public pension funds are among the most important groups of limited partners in the US, and their staff are the people who source, screen and recommend managers. When turnover is lower, three things follow for fundraising. A relationship built over several fundraises is more likely to be with the same person next time. A warm introduction that works today is likely to stay useful for longer. And a team that can hire remotely may sit outside the plan's home city, so the person behind a recommendation may not be where you expect.

The survey does not split out investment staff, so it cannot tell us whether the improvement applies equally to the people who pick managers. We would read it as a general signal on stability and not a measure of investment team turnover.

What GPs should take from it

Keep a living map of the investment staff at each US public plan, not just the chief investment officer, and update it when you see a move. Our guide to following LP staff moves into warm paths shows how to do that without relying on press releases. If staff are staying longer, invest in the relationship between raises: send a short update on portfolio progress and realisations twice a year, even when you are not fundraising, so your next call starts warm rather than cold. A good warm introduction from a shared investor is also more durable when the person receiving it stays in seat, and our walkthrough of mapping a CIO's career into warm paths shows one way to do it.

Finally, assume that decision-makers may be on hybrid or remote schedules. Offer video meetings as the default and make sure your materials can be read without a call.

FundLinx members can see which public pension teams have changed this year.

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