Pensions Key to Labor Department’s Retirement Savings Campaign

Public-sector unions are emerging as a key player in the U.S. Labor Department’s effort to reshape 401(k)s in the fading image of traditional pensions.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and his newly appointed retirement security adviser Kathleen Kennedy Townsend visited New York City’s top teacher union Monday to kick off a series of discussions on the state of U.S. retirement security.

Often considered a relic of the U.S. retirement benefits industry, public pensions are serving as a gold standard for adequate workplace retirement coverage under a Democratic administration. Newer 401(k)-style plans are filling the void that private-sector pensions are leaving behind, ...