Is Fairfax County Police fully funded?

Fairfax County Police has a source-reconciled actuarial funded ratio of 78.9% as of FY2024, earning a health grade of D. Funded ratios are reported on each plan's actuarial basis, which can smooth investment gains and losses over time. A single percentage is therefore a comparison point rather than a complete forecast.

What happens if Fairfax County Police runs out of money?

The PPD records a plan's reported financial measures; it does not provide a guarantee analysis. Check the plan's official disclosures for jurisdiction-specific benefit and funding information.

What does a funded ratio of 78.9% mean?

A funded ratio of 78.9% means that Fairfax County Police reported actuarial assets equal to 78.9% of its accrued liabilities at that valuation date. The source-reported actuarial unfunded liability stands at $501M. This represents a moderate funding gap that requires ongoing monitoring.

How does Fairfax County Police compare to other public pensions?

Fairfax County Police is a Police & Fire plan in Virginia serving 2,815 members. Nationally, the average funded ratio for public pension plans tracked by the Public Plans Database is approximately 75.5%. Fairfax County Police's source-reconciled actuarial funded ratio of 78.9% places it near the national average.

How many members does Fairfax County Police have?

Fairfax County Police covers 2,815 total members, including 1,258 active employees and 1,455 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

Fairfax County Police

Fairfax County Police tracked in full: funded ratio, unfunded liability, membership, and investment returns across 23 years, sourced from the Public Plans Database (Boston College CRR) and verified against actuarial valuations.

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By PlainPension · July 2026 · Virginia · Police & Fire Plan · Data through FY2024

Actuarial funded ratio: 78.9%
Health grade: DLower reported funded ratio in this dataset
Actuarial assets: $1.88B
Members: 2,815

According to the Public Plans Database, compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, Fairfax County Police 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

Fairfax County Police ranks #182 of 192 by source-reconciled actuarial funded ratio (78.9%), bottom-third among tracked public plans.

Fairfax County Police in the lower-funded third

According to the Public Plans Database, Fairfax County Police sits in the lower-funded third at 78.9% (grade D, #182 of 192) for FY2024, 3.4 points above the national public-pension average.

78.9%
Funded · #182 of 192: D
Health grade: $501M
Actuarial unfunded liability: -20.1pp
FY2001→FY2024

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Actuarial Unfunded Liability

$501M

Below-median unfunded liability · source-reported UAAL

Total Members

2,815

active + retired + vested

1-Year Return

1.4%

Below assumed rate · net investment return

-1.4pp vs 5-yr avg

5-Year Avg Return

2.8%

Below assumed rate · annualized, net of fees

Composite Health Score

39/100

Fairfax County Police

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 C

78.9%

Actuarial assets as a share of liabilities

Contribution Discipline F

100.0%

Share of the actuarially required contribution actually paid

Investment Returns F

2.8%

5-year annualized investment return

Unfunded Burden C

21.5%

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

2.6 pts funded ratio

Fairfax County Police's funded ratio fell 2.6 points from FY2023 to FY2024, with assets contributing +2.9 points and the accrued liability contributing -5.5.

Funded ratio

81.5% → 78.9%

Actuarial assets

$1.81B → $1.88B (+3.6%)

Accrued liability

$2.22B → $2.38B (+7.0%)

Where the 2.6-point move came from

Assets: +2.9 pts
Accrued liability: -5.5 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	78.9%	$1.88B	$2.38B	$501M	N/A	n/a	n/a
2023	81.5%	$1.81B	$2.22B	$411M	2,815	100.0%	n/a
2022	82.2%	$1.80B	$2.19B	$389M	2,777	100.0%	n/a
2021	86.0%	$1.72B	$2.00B	$281M	2,751	100.0%	n/a
2020	83.1%	$1.54B	$1.85B	$314M	2,699	80.3%	n/a
2019	85.4%	$1.52B	$1.78B	$259M	2,663	100.0%	n/a
2018	85.2%	$1.46B	$1.71B	$254M	2,589	100.0%	1.4%
2017	85.0%	$1.39B	$1.64B	$246M	2,531	100.0%	10.8%
2016	85.4%	$1.33B	$1.56B	$227M	2,480	100.0%	2.4%
2015	86.5%	$1.29B	$1.49B	$201M	2,386	100.0%	-4.3%
2014	85.0%	$1.22B	$1.44B	$217M	2,308	100.0%	3.9%
2013	82.1%	$1.10B	$1.34B	$240M	2,266	80.5%	13.0%
2012	80.5%	$1.04B	$1.29B	$251M	2,258	81.4%	10.3%
2011	80.3%	$982M	$1.22B	$237M	2,236	79.1%	-1.6%
2010	79.3%	$900M	$1.14B	$235M	2,217	77.3%	9.8%
2009	81.7%	$880M	$1.08B	$196M	2,219	85.0%	14.4%
2008	88.0%	$908M	$1.03B	$123M	2,185	76.1%	-16.3%
2007	89.9%	$871M	$969M	$98M	2,129	72.5%	5.8%
2006	87.9%	$789M	$897M	$109M	2,072	73.9%	9.6%
2005	88.4%	$733M	$829M	$96M	2,043	71.8%	4.0%

What the Data Says About Fairfax County Police

Fairfax County Police shows a comfortably above-average funding position, 3 points above the 75.5% national average across tracked plans. A 5-year average investment return of 2.8% factors into the plan's overall trajectory.

For Virginia taxpayers and plan members, the $501M 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

1,258

Active Members

1,455

Retirees

2,815

Total Members

Plan Details

Plan Type: Police & Fire
State: Virginia
Market Assets: $1.83B

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

Plans With a Similar Funded Ratio

The closest plans nationwide to Fairfax County Police's 48.4% funded ratio.

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

Other Virginia Plans

All Virginia plans →

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Cite this page

PlainPension, “Fairfax County Police: 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/fairfax-county-police

Formal citation formats (APA / MLA)

APA: PlainPension. (2023). Fairfax County Police: Funded Ratio, Assets, and Actuarial Data. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from https://plainpension.com/plan/fairfax-county-police

MLA: "Fairfax County Police: Funded Ratio, Assets, and Actuarial Data." PlainPension, 2023, https://plainpension.com/plan/fairfax-county-police.

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. Fairfax County Police ranks #182 of 192 by funded ratio and #168 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