Reaching New Horizons

Overfishing

With a Pew study showing that governments pay $22 billion a year in harmful subsidies to fishers, the 164 members of the World Trade Organization agreed in June to curb that spending—a driving force behind overfishing around the globe.

In partnership with

Adessium Foundation

The Pew Charitable Trusts

would pursue a career in journalism again: 77%, Are extremely proud of their work: 75%, Are very or somewhat satisfied with their job: 70%, Use a negative word to describe the news industry-words like struggling and chaos are most common: 72%, Are extremely or very concerned about future restrictions on press freedoms: 57%, Say made-up news and information is a very big problem form the country: 71%

Retirement

Savings

When people with an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as a 401(k) retire or change jobs, they often roll their savings into an individual retirement account or IRA. A June report from Pew’s retirement savings project showed the risk in those moves. Mutual funds often charge large employer plans lower fees than they do individual investors and an increase as small as 0.19 percentage points can cost a person tens of thousands of dollars over time. The report called for clearer explanations about fees for consumers—and concluded that if investors are happy with an employer’s plan they may want to stick with it even after leaving their jobs or be sure to find IRA funds with equivalent or lower expenses than in their 401(k).

Wildlife

Migration

Each year in the U.S., approximately 200 people die and 26,000 are injured in collisions with wildlife. In 2022, the federal government and eight states—California, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming—adopted more than a dozen laws or policies to protect wildlife habitat and fund wildlife bridges, tunnels, culverts, and fencing that conserve well-traveled animal corridors and guide migratory herds away from traffic. Pew’s U.S. public lands and rivers conservation project provided significant technical assistance for these measures, which will safeguard animals, ecosystems, and people.

In partnership with

William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation

Björn Alicke / 500px via Getty Images

Seabed

Mining

In September, California banned the seabed mining of hard minerals within 3 miles of shore, building on previous prohibitions by Washington and Oregon to create a protected area along the entire West Coast. The action establishes one of the largest marine areas in the world—more than 7,700 square miles—where seabed mining is explicitly and proactively banned by statute. Pew provided technical assistance to the Legislature. Seabed mining can harm sensitive habitats, for example, from dredges destroying corals and sponges, which could in turn hurt communities that depend on fishing, tourism, and cultural resources.

The Pew Charitable Trusts

pie chart showing 54% said extremely important, 22% said very important, 14% said somewhat important, 3% said a little important, and 5% said not at all important

map of Chile, highlighting Tictoc marine park

Public

Pensions

When Pew began researching public employee pension plans in 2007, only about a third of the states were making the necessary investments to meet future obligations to their retirees. Since then, Pew’s public sector retirement project has provided technical assistance to more than 20 state and local governments to help them reform and strengthen their pension systems. Last October, the project released a report showing that states collectively had met a crucial benchmark for minimum funding in 2020—it was a first in two decades, showing many states are on the cusp of long-term solvency and sustainability.

In partnership with

Laura and John
Arnold Foundation

Philadelphia

Like many U.S. cities, Philadelphia’s economy was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the city’s recovery has lagged the nation’s. To help city leaders navigate the future, Pew’s Philadelphia research and policy initiative in February released a series of reports on the city’s fiscal future, including “Four Possible Scenarios for Philadelphia’s Economy.” Based on projections for post-COVID economic growth and key factors such as the return of in-person activity, the analysis created scenarios for job growth or contraction across sectors and populations. The pandemic has created significant changes in employment and economic behavior that have the potential to shift businesses’ and households’ decision-making into the future.

In partnership with

William Penn Foundation

Chris Henry/Unsplash

Consumer

Finance

Most of the nation’s 25 largest banks over the past year reduced or eliminated overdraft fees and nonsufficient fund fees—a move poised to save consumers more than $4 billion annually. The federal government reported that consumers paid $15.5 billion in these fees in 2019. Pew’s research has highlighted the need for these changes and found they should have outsize benefits for Black and Hispanic customers who pay a disproportionate share of these fees. Also last year, three large banks launched affordable small-dollar loans that meet Pew’s standards, so six of the top eight banks now offer a near-instant small loan accessible to many of their customers who have used payday and similar lenders. Borrowing $500 for three months from a payday lender costs $450 on average; the banks are charging no more than $30.

Broadband

With an unprecedented $65 billion federal investment in high-speed broadband available to the states, Pew formed the Broadband Education and Training Initiative, which last year worked with 30 states and territories. The no-cost support helps local officials make the most of the new revenue and highlights Pew’s research into effective strategies and other technical assistance available to expand broadband. A Pew-sponsored forum in June brought together hundreds of state and federal officials, digital equity advocates, industry experts, and academic researchers to share ideas and best practices. And to keep momentum on expanding accessibility to this essential technology, Pew and its partners took on leadership of the National Broadband Resource Hub. The hub will empower government and community leaders to build better broadband by providing educational resources and connecting broadband practitioners.