All data included in the visualization were collected from the Annual Reports or Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for the individual funds, except for the total and individual consultant fees paid by the Michigan State Employees’ Retirement System, which were provided by a representative of the fund, and the individual consulting fees paid by the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois in FY 2011, which were reported in a separate disclosure document on the fund’s website.

The data for the Virginia Retirement System include the State Police Officers’ Retirement System, the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System, the Judicial Retirement System, and the retirement system for other state employees.

Some public pension funds do not list the salaries and wages paid to their employees separately from the amounts spent on those employees’ benefits. In Remapping Debate’s data visualization, benefits are included in the “Salaries and Wages” categories in the following pension funds: the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois.

State fiscal years begin and end in different months. This should be borne in mind when comparing rates of return and other data reported.