There is a mega-trend happening in the country today, and it's an ever increasing, pervasive socialism that is resulting in a declining workforce participation rate and economic stagnation.  Polls show the millennials have lost faith in capitalism and now prefer socialism.  For most of the past several decades, the regressive 'drown government in a bath tub' and the progressive 'increase the social safety net by making essentials affordable' groups were in balance, but now there is a major distortion in our economy that portends much smaller yields in the capital markets.  This major shift makes defined benefit plans unsustainable and untenable.  If the proposed PERA reform doesn't stop the financial bleed after 5-10 years, then the state needs to seriously considered freezing the PERA plan for current PERA members, and shifting them and future workers into Social Security along with a matched 401k, 403b, 457b deferred compensation plan.