退休基金的投資運用，基本上是公共選擇下的層層運作結果。就美國的公共及企業退休基金而言，穩定且多元化的金融市場雖已提供退休基金在投資上的厚實利基，然在政府與企業的尋租行為，以及人民的資訊不對稱與因循投資行為下，不論是確定給付制或確定提撥制，政府的公共選擇決策仍然還是讓人民承擔了政府與企業的尋租成本，而成為退休金給付風險的最後實質承擔者。因之，政府對退休基金的投資管理應採主動式的制約、或是被動式的提供投資訊息及環境，是值得進一步深思之處。

The investment in pension funds is the result of public choice. Concerning the public and corporate pension funds in the United States, which have a stable and diversified financial market background, the rent-seeking of the government and corporations, and the asymmetric information as well as the inertia of participants have made participants undertake the ultimate pension payment risk, including defined benefit and defined contribution, under the result of public choice. So, it requires the government to ponder thoroughly over the design of pension systems as well as pension funds.