Actuarial Unfunded Liability
$19M
Modest unfunded liability · source-reported UAAL
FY2023 source-reconciled actuarial data · Public Plans Database
Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan
The Public Plans Database's 23-year record for Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan: funded ratio, unfunded liability, member counts, and investment returns, compiled by Boston College CRR and cross-checked against actuarial valuations.
By PlainPension · · North Dakota · General State Plan · Data through FY2023
- Actuarial funded ratio
- 86.6%
- Health grade
- DLower reported funded ratio in this dataset
- Actuarial assets
- $125M
- Members
- 887
According to the Public Plans Database, compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan is one of 197 public pension plans tracked nationwide. The plan card reports source-reconciled actuarial figures through FY2023; the multi-year table includes only years whose reported ratio ties to its actuarial dollars. This site’s database copy was last loaded in July 2026. See our methodology for the full source and update cadence.
Smaller membership book
Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan ranks #181 of 190 by reported members (887), bottom-third membership book among plans with a count.
Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan in the smaller-membership third
According to the Public Plans Database, Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan carries a bottom-third membership book (887, #181 of 190) with a 86.6% actuarial funded ratio (grade D).
- 86.6%
- Funded · #177 of 192
- D
- Health grade
- 887
- Members · #181 of 190
- -4.0pp
- FY2001→FY2023
Total Members
887
active + retired + vested
1-Year Return
9.5%
Above assumed rate · net investment return
3.9pp vs 5-yr avg
5-Year Avg Return
5.6%
Near assumed rate · annualized, net of fees
C+
Composite Health Score
62/100
Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan
Transparent derived index from public pension-plan filings, not an official rating. A 4-dimension composite (funded ratio, contribution discipline, 5-year investment return, unfunded burden), each scored against this dataset's own percentile distribution across 197 reporting plans. Not the same as the plan's headline funded-ratio grade above. See the exact dimensions, weights, and formula.
Funded Ratio B
86.6%
Actuarial assets as a share of liabilities
Contribution Discipline B+
106.5%
Share of the actuarially required contribution actually paid
Investment Returns F
5.6%
5-year annualized investment return
Unfunded Burden B
13.4%
Unfunded liability as a share of total obligations
How this score is calculated (benchmark table)
| Dimension | P10 | P25 | P50 | P75 | P90 | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funded ratio (higher = better) | 57.6% | 67.2% | 75.0% | 87.0% | 97.6% | 0.35 |
| Contribution discipline (ARC) (higher = better) | 88.4% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 104.1% | 122.1% | 0.25 |
| 5yr investment return (higher = better) | 6.4% | 7.5% | 8.3% | 9.1% | 9.9% | 0.20 |
| Unfunded burden (lower = better) | 2.0% | 12.7% | 25.0% | 33.1% | 42.4% | 0.20 |
Percentiles computed across all 197 plans in this database with a reported value for that metric (2026-09-09). A dimension a plan does not report drops out of its composite, and that weight redistributes across the dimensions it does report, so thin reporting never silently lowers a score relative to a fully-reported peer.
Participant Composition
Investment Policy Mix
Funded ratio, 2001 to 2023
Assets as a share of the benefits already promised, one point per reported year. Down 4.0 points across the series. This is the multi-year table's series, so its last point can be a later year than the plan card above, which reports the plan's own latest valuation.
What changed, FY2022 to FY2023
4 pts funded ratioBismarck Employees' Pension Plan's funded ratio rose 4.0 points from FY2022 to FY2023, driven by its assets, which grew 7.4% while the accrued liability moved +2.4%.
Funded ratio
82.5% → 86.6%
Actuarial assets
$116M → $125M (+7.4%)
Accrued liability
$141M → $144M (+2.4%)
Where the 4.0-point move came from
- Assets
- +6.1 pts
- Accrued liability
- -2.1 pts
Accrued liability is the source-reported value for benefits already promised. The two contributions are the move the ratio would have made on the prior year’s liability (assets) and the remainder (liability); they sum to the total by construction. Both years shown provide source-reconciled actuarial assets and liability, so neither figure rests on a ratio published on its own. Source: Public Plans Database (Boston College CRR / NASRA), loaded July 2026. See our funding-change board for how this plan’s move compares with the rest of the dataset.
Historical Actuarial Funding
| Year | Actuarial Ratio |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 86.6% |
| 2022 | 82.5% |
| 2021 | 100.9% |
| 2020 | 94.8% |
| 2019 | 91.6% |
| 2018 | 83.5% |
| 2017 | 91.8% |
| 2016 | 89.9% |
| 2015 | 89.9% |
| 2014 | 98.8% |
| 2013 | 101.3% |
| 2012 | 92.8% |
| 2011 | 87.8% |
| 2010 | 83.2% |
| 2009 | 79.4% |
| 2008 | 73.7% |
| 2007 | 98.0% |
| 2006 | 96.7% |
| 2005 | 87.7% |
| 2004 | 88.5% |
What the Data Says About Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan
Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan ranks among the better-funded plans in the database, 11 points above the 75.5% national average across tracked plans. A 5-year average investment return of 5.6% factors into the plan's overall trajectory.
For North Dakota taxpayers and plan members, the $19M source-reported actuarial unfunded liability is the shortfall this plan must close over time.
Where this data comes from + how funding gaps get resolved
These figures come from the Public Plans Database, a collaboration between the Boston College Center for Retirement Research and NASRA that compiles them from each plan's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs) and actuarial valuations. The relationship between contribution adequacy and investment performance determines whether an unfunded liability narrows or expands year over year, and the gap itself is typically closed through some combination of higher contributions, investment returns, or benefit modifications. See our methodology for how public-pension funding differs from ERISA-backed private plans, and our disclaimer below before acting on this data.
Membership
497
Active Members
300
Retirees
887
Total Members
Plan Details
- Plan Type
- General State
- State
- North Dakota
- Market Assets
- $125M
Source: Public Plans Database (PPD)
Boston College CRR / NASRA
Boston College CRR / NASRA
Plans With a Similar Funded Ratio
The closest plans nationwide to Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan's 54.4% funded ratio.
Showing 5 of 191 plans nationwide with a reported funded ratio.
Other North Dakota Plans
- North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System 75.5%
- Bismarck Police Plan 69.0%
- North Dakota Teachers Fund for Retirement 67.2%
Read with this plan
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. Bismarck Employees' Pension Plan ranks #177 of 192 by funded ratio and #181 of 190 by membership. This information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice, consult a qualified professional before acting on it. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the typed corrections pathway, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.