Is Des Moines Water Works fully funded?

Des Moines Water Works has a source-reconciled actuarial funded ratio of 92.1% as of FY2024, earning a health grade of F. A funded ratio compares actuarial assets with actuarial accrued liabilities at a reporting date. A value of 100% means those two reported values are equal; it does not forecast benefits, taxes, or investment performance.

What happens if Des Moines Water Works runs out of money?

Des Moines Water Works is a public plan in Iowa. PlainPension reports the source data and does not determine a plan's legal protections, contribution policy, or future benefit decisions.

What does a funded ratio of 92.1% mean?

A funded ratio of 92.1% means that Des Moines Water Works reported actuarial assets equal to 92.1% of its accrued liabilities at that valuation date. The source-reported actuarial unfunded liability stands at $5M. This is considered adequately funded.

How does Des Moines Water Works compare to other public pensions?

Des Moines Water Works is a General State plan in Iowa serving 332 members. Nationally, the average funded ratio for public pension plans tracked by the Public Plans Database is approximately 75.5%. Des Moines Water Works's source-reconciled actuarial funded ratio of 92.1% places it above the national average, reflecting strong fiscal management.

How many members does Des Moines Water Works have?

Des Moines Water Works covers 332 total members, including 91 active employees and 202 retirees currently receiving benefits. The ratio of active members to retirees is a key indicator of plan sustainability, when the number of retirees grows relative to active contributors, funding pressure increases.

FY2024 source-reconciled actuarial data · Public Plans Database

Des Moines Water Works

Funded ratio, unfunded liability, member counts, and 23-year financial history for Des Moines Water Works, sourced from the Public Plans Database (Boston College CRR) and cross-checked against actuarial valuations.

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By PlainPension · July 2026 · Iowa · General State Plan · Data through FY2024

Actuarial funded ratio: 92.1%
Health grade: FLowest reported funded-ratio band in this dataset
Actuarial assets: $57M
Members: 332

According to the Public Plans Database, compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, Des Moines Water Works is one of 197 public pension plans tracked nationwide. The plan card reports source-reconciled actuarial figures through FY2024; 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.

Lower funded-ratio band

Des Moines Water Works ranks #188 of 192 by source-reconciled actuarial funded ratio (92.1%), bottom-third among tracked public plans.

Des Moines Water Works in the lower-funded third

According to the Public Plans Database, Des Moines Water Works sits in the lower-funded third at 92.1% (grade F, #188 of 192) for FY2024, 16.6 points above the national public-pension average.

92.1%
Funded · #188 of 192: F
Health grade: $5M
Actuarial unfunded liability: -14.9pp
FY2007→FY2024

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Actuarial Unfunded Liability

$5M

Modest unfunded liability · source-reported UAAL

Total Members

332

active + retired + vested

1-Year Return

11.3%

Strong return year · net investment return

3.4pp vs 5-yr avg

5-Year Avg Return

7.9%

Above assumed rate · annualized, net of fees

Composite Health Score

59/100

Des Moines Water Works

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 A-

92.1%

Actuarial assets as a share of liabilities

Contribution Discipline F

100.0%

Share of the actuarially required contribution actually paid

Investment Returns F

7.9%

5-year annualized investment return

Unfunded Burden A-

8.0%

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

What changed, FY2023 to FY2024

1.6 pts funded ratio

Des Moines Water Works's funded ratio fell 1.6 points from FY2023 to FY2024, driven by its assets, which shrank 2.3% while the accrued liability moved -0.7%.

Funded ratio

93.6% → 92.1%

Actuarial assets

$58M → $57M (-2.3%)

Accrued liability

$62M → $62M (-0.7%)

Where the 1.6-point move came from

Assets: -2.2 pts
Accrued liability: +0.6 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	Assets	Liabilities	UAAL	Members	ARC	1yr return
2024	92.1%	$57M	$62M	$5M	N/A	100.0%	14.3%
2023	93.6%	$58M	$62M	$4M	332	100.0%	11.3%
2022	95.5%	$60M	$63M	$3M	332	100.0%	-11.1%
2021	90.7%	$59M	$66M	$6M	339	100.0%	27.0%
2020	87.0%	$57M	$65M	$9M	342	100.0%	-2.0%
2019	85.5%	$54M	$63M	$9M	346	100.0%	4.5%
2018	84.8%	$52M	$61M	$9M	349	100.0%	7.3%
2017	85.3%	$52M	$61M	$9M	353	119.3%	12.2%
2016	86.7%	$51M	$59M	$8M	358	75.0%	2.6%
2015	88.7%	$50M	$57M	$6M	363	100.0%	5.6%
2014	86.4%	$49M	$56M	$8M	366	100.0%	17.5%
2013	85.0%	$47M	$55M	$8M	369	100.0%	13.4%
2012	73.0%	$42M	$58M	$16M	380	100.0%	0.2%
2011	74.0%	$38M	$51M	$13M	383	100.0%	26.4%
2010	81.0%	$39M	$48M	$9M	379	100.0%	13.6%
2009	90.0%	$40M	$44M	$5M	380	100.0%	-15.4%
2008	98.0%	$42M	$42M	$1M	380	146.6%	-10.5%
2007	107.0%	$43M	$40M	$-3M	389	121.4%	18.9%

What the Data Says About Des Moines Water Works

Des Moines Water Works is one of the more fully funded plans in the Public Plans Database, 17 points above the 75.5% national average across tracked plans. A 5-year average investment return of 7.9% factors into the plan's overall trajectory.

For Iowa taxpayers and plan members, the $5M 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

Active Members

202

Retirees

332

Total Members

Plan Details

Plan Type: General State
State: Iowa
Market Assets: $56M

Source: Public Plans Database (PPD)
Boston College CRR / NASRA

Plans With a Similar Funded Ratio

The closest plans nationwide to Des Moines Water Works's 26.3% funded ratio.

Showing 5 of 191 plans nationwide with a reported funded ratio.

Other Iowa Plans

Iowa Municipal Fire and Police 100.0%
Iowa Public Employees Retirement System 45.8%

All Iowa plans →

Read with this plan

Cite this page

PlainPension, “Des Moines Water Works: Funded Ratio, Assets, and Actuarial Data.” Compiled from the Public Plans Database (PPD), compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research with MissionSquare Research Institute and NASRA; data as of FY2023 plan card; history through FY2024. https://plainpension.com/plan/des-moines-water-works

Formal citation formats (APA / MLA)

APA: PlainPension. (2023). Des Moines Water Works: Funded Ratio, Assets, and Actuarial Data. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from https://plainpension.com/plan/des-moines-water-works

MLA: "Des Moines Water Works: Funded Ratio, Assets, and Actuarial Data." PlainPension, 2023, https://plainpension.com/plan/des-moines-water-works.

You are welcome to quote these figures with attribution to PlainPension and the underlying source. The URL above is stable. See our Terms of Use for what reuse is permitted.

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. Des Moines Water Works ranks #188 of 192 by funded ratio and #185 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.

Compiled by PlainPension · July 23, 2026