U.S. public pension plans continue to invest in public infrastructure but still lag their counterparts in Australia and Canada.
That's according to the latest
U.S. public pension funds, mostly state plans, made 165 commitments to infrastructure funds in 2025, totaling $17.4 billion. That's down from 254 commitments in 2024 totaling $21.3 billion, the report said, and 238 commitments in 2023 totaling $23.8 billion.
Report author and director of Reason transportation policy Robert Poole said he was surprised by the decrease in pension fund infrastructure investment last year and wasn't clear on what drove the apparent decrease.
Most U.S. public pension funds invest in infrastructure through infrastructure funds instead of direct spending on specific projects.
The report identifies 26 states that committed a total of $13.3 billion to various infrastructure funds in 2025. The California Public Employees' Retirement System led the group, at $1.8 billion. CalPERS invested $1 billion in the West Street Climate fund from Goldman Sachs and $500 million in the TPG Rise Climate Transition Infrastructure Fund.
In second place was New Mexico, at $1.4 billion, followed by Washington, at $1.3 billion, and Connecticut at $1.2 billion, the report said.
Poole notes that infrastructure investments are categorized as private equity, and as such information on their performance is not widely available. The Institutional Limited Partners Association, whose members include CalPERS, Texas Teachers and Wisconsin Investment Board, is pushing for more transparency and standardized financial report by private equity firms, the report said.
"Infrastructure appears to continue to be a sound investment, but investors such as pension systems, university endowments, and charitable organizations should be able to view the performance and fee structures of infrastructure investment funds and other categories of private equity," Poole said in the report.
The largest transportation P3 financed last year was
Georgia's $12 billion project set several precedents, including a $3.8 billion upfront concession fee that the consortium paid to the Georgia Department of Transportation, marking the largest to date for a greenfield transportation project.
The concession fee sets a "bad precedent" and could begin a "dangerous trend," Poole told The Bond Buyer. Concession fees are traditionally paid for brownfield trends, where the company is buying the right to charge tolls, for example, or in the case of asset recycling, he said.
"For greenfield express toll lane projects, that multi-billion-dollar fee will have to be recovered by higher tolls," Poole said. "I see no justification for motorists having to pay higher tolls because of such fees. The much-higher tolls could generate a backlash against [express toll lane] projects, just as they are gaining widespread acceptance."
Looking ahead, Poole's pipeline of potential P3s includes
