Is Your Public Pension
Financially Secure?
Funded ratios, unfunded liabilities, ARC coverage, member counts, and 23-year financial histories for 197 US state and local public pension plans, drawn from the Public Plans Database (Boston College CRR, MissionSquare Research, NASRA).
- Plans tracked
- 197
- Avg funded ratio
- 75.5%
- Combined unfunded
- 1.9T
- Members covered
- 31.2M
According to the Public Plans Database, compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, aggregate unfunded liabilities across the 197 tracked plans total more than $1,833 billion; PlainPension's dataset was last refreshed in May 2026, see our methodology for the full source and update cadence.
The national picture
Across 197 tracked US public pension plans, the average funded ratio is 75.5%, but 28 plans (14%) carry a D or F health grade, and the combined unfunded liability tops $1.9T.
- 75.5%
- Average funded ratio
- $1.9T
- Combined unfunded liability
- 28
- Plans graded D or F
- 31.2M
- Members covered
Pension Guides
Understanding Funded Ratios
The key metric for pension financial health
Check Your Pension Health
Step-by-step guide to evaluating your plan
Pension Crisis Explained
Why plans are underfunded and what it means
Is My Pension Safe?
How to assess your personal retirement security
What If a Pension Runs Out?
Legal protections and realistic scenarios
National pension funding trend
Average funded ratio across the 197 public pension plans in the Public Plans Database, by fiscal year.
Most At-Risk Plans
All rankings →| Plan | Funded Ratio | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Teachers Retirement System | 21.8% | F |
| Sioux Falls Fire | 22.8% | F |
| Providence Employees Retirement System | 23.4% | F |
| City of Miami Firefighters and Police Officers Retirement Trust | 24.3% | F |
| Des Moines Water Works | 26.3% | F |
Browse by State
All states →Pension Funding FAQs
What is a funded ratio for a pension?
A funded ratio measures how much of a pension's promised benefits are backed by current assets. A 100% funded ratio means the plan has enough assets to pay all promised benefits. Below 80% is generally considered underfunded; below 60% is critical.
Which states have the worst-funded pensions?
In our Public Plans Database sample, the most underfunded individual plans are Sioux Falls Fire (24% funded), Providence Employees (25%), and the City of Miami Fire and Police trust (26%); eleven plans are funded below 50%. See our worst-funded rankings.
Where does this data come from?
PlainPension uses data from the Public Plans Database (PPD), a research collaboration by Boston College Center for Retirement Research and NASRA. The PPD tracks 197 US public pension plans with historical data back to 2001.
What is an unfunded liability?
Unfunded liability (pension debt) is the gap between what a plan has in assets and what it has promised in future benefits. High unfunded liabilities often lead to higher taxes, reduced public services, or benefit cuts.
PlainPension presents Public Plans Database figures compiled by Boston College Center for Retirement Research. This site does not offer investment, actuarial, or retirement planning advice. Consult your pension fund administrator or a qualified financial advisor for decisions about your public pension benefits.
Research
Original analysis from our editorial process, every statistic derived from our own database. See all research.
CalPERS 467 Billion in Assets: Top 10 US Public Pension Funds
Public Plans Database data shows CalPERS ($467B market assets), CalSTRS ($317B), and New York State Local Retirement ($250B) leading US public pension funds by market assets, with combined top-10 assets exceeding $2.1 trillion across California New York Texas Florida and Washington systems.
ResearchSioux Falls Fire 24.4% Funded Ratio: Bottom 10 US Public Pensions
Public Plans Database data shows Sioux Falls Fire (24.4 percent funded), Providence Employees (24.6 percent), and City of Miami Fire/Police (25.8 percent) leading the worst-funded US public pension plans, with Louisiana Teachers at 28.2 percent funded and $66.4 billion unfunded liability anchoring the state-level distress tier.
ResearchCalifornia 408 Billion in Unfunded Pension Liabilities: Top 10 State Totals
Public Plans Database data shows California ($408.79B unfunded), New York ($243.84B), and Texas ($137.47B) leading US states by aggregate pension unfunded liabilities, with Ohio at $121.36 billion and Washington State at $98.44 billion completing the top-burden state tier.
About this data
How PlainPension works, and why you can trust these numbers
What this site is
PlainPension tracks the funded status of 197 US public pension plans across 51 states, using the Public Plans Database (PPD), a collaboration between the Boston College Center for Retirement Research and the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. Every funded ratio, unfunded liability, and health grade on this site traces back to a plan's own actuarial valuation or annual financial report.
Editorial process
- Source. Use the PPD release represented in our database, compiled by the Center for Retirement Research from plan CAFRs and actuarial valuations.
- Verify. Extract plan-level actuarial assets, accrued liabilities, and contribution rates directly from the PPD dataset; no financial figure is fabricated or modified.
- Publish. Compile per-plan health cards, historical funded-ratio trends back to 2001, and state-level aggregates, always linking back to the source PPD record so readers can verify our numbers against it.
Editorial independence & corrections
PlainPension is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with the Center for Retirement Research, NASRA, or any covered pension plan. We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from any plan or state. Found a figure that looks wrong? Use the contact page with the page URL and the value that looks off, we compare it against the published PPD source and correct our pipeline (not just the single page) if the error is on our side. See our editorial & corrections policy and methodology for the full process and source attribution.
Frequently asked
What data does PlainPension track?
Funded ratios, unfunded liabilities, and financial health grades for 197 US public pension plans across 51 states, sourced from the Public Plans Database.
What is the Public Plans Database?
The PPD is the most comprehensive longitudinal database of US public pension plans, compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research from annual financial reports and actuarial valuations submitted by plans.
How often is the data updated?
PPD publishes interim updates as plan financial reports become available. PlainPension checks the release history and API on a recurring 90-day clock, then validates and publishes a new snapshot when the upstream data changes. Individual plan records can lag the current date.