Pension Funded Ratios Explained
How public pension funded ratios are calculated, and what one reported percentage can and cannot show.
According to the Public Plans Database, compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, reported funded ratios in our dataset span from below 25% to over 100%. Plan cards use FY2023 valuations; this site’s database copy was last loaded in July 2026. See our methodology for the full source and update cadence.
A funded ratio is a useful comparison measure, not a forecast. Read it with the plan's reporting year and actuarial assumptions before drawing conclusions about a plan's funding position.
What a funded ratio tells you
A funded ratio expresses reported plan assets as a percentage of reported actuarial liabilities. If a plan reports $8 billion in assets and $10 billion in liabilities, its funded ratio is 80%.
That percentage depends on actuarial assumptions, especially the discount rate used to value future liabilities. A higher discount rate can produce a higher funded ratio for the same underlying plan. Compare ratios only after checking the plan's assumptions and reporting year.
How to read the range
100% or more: Reported actuarial assets meet or exceed reported actuarial liabilities under the plan's assumptions.
80% to 99%: This range is often used as a screening benchmark. It is not a universal pass-fail line because assumptions and funding policies differ.
60% to 79%: The plan reports a larger gap between actuarial assets and liabilities. Read its valuation and funding policy before comparing it with another plan.
Below 60%: A low reported ratio is a reason to examine the plan's valuation, contribution policy, and reporting history. It does not, by itself, predict benefit changes. See the lowest funded-ratio ordering for the underlying records.
Use reported history carefully
Changes over time can be useful when the reporting basis is comparable. A change in a ratio may reflect contributions, investment returns, benefit changes, revisions to actuarial assumptions, or a different fiscal-year endpoint. PlainPension shows the reported record; it does not infer the cause of a change from the ratio alone.
What to check next
Open the relevant plan page to see its reported funded ratio, assets, liabilities, and filing year. Then read the methodology for source and comparability limits. For a national ordering, use the lowest funded-ratio ranking as a starting point for research, not a recommendation.
Sources: Public Plans Database, publicplansdata.org.
Data vintage: FY2023 plan cards; history through FY2024
Frequently asked questions
Where does this data come from?
All figures on this page derive from the Public Plans Database (Boston College Center for Retirement Research and NASRA). We cite the underlying series in the methodology section. No proprietary aggregators are used.
How often are figures updated?
Plan records become available on different reporting schedules. We check the PPD release history and API on a recurring 90-day clock, then validate and publish a new snapshot when the upstream data changes. The methodology page documents that release monitor.
Can I use this data for my own analysis?
You may cite this page with attribution. The underlying Public Plans Database has its own research terms, so consult publicplansdata.org before reusing the raw dataset or redistributing it in bulk.
What if the figures here disagree with another source?
Different sources use different methodologies, definitions, geographic boundaries, and reference periods, disagreement is normal and informative. Our methodology page documents exactly which series and reference period we use for each metric, so you can reproduce or audit the figures against the upstream agency directly.
Every figure on PlainPension is rendered directly from the Public Plans Database (Boston College Center for Retirement Research), no number is typed in by an editor. This guide explains the funded-ratio metric used throughout the site's plan and ranking pages. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.