Is Virginia Retirement System fully funded?

Virginia Retirement System has a source-reconciled actuarial funded ratio of 82.6% as of FY2024, earning a health grade of C. At 100%, reported actuarial assets equal reported accrued liabilities. Plans use different assumptions and valuation methods, so ratios should be read alongside the underlying actuarial valuation.

What happens if Virginia Retirement System runs out of money?

This profile is not a legal or retirement-benefit assessment. For a decision affecting Virginia Retirement System, consult the plan administrator, governing documents, and a qualified professional.

What does a funded ratio of 82.6% mean?

A funded ratio of 82.6% means that Virginia Retirement System reported actuarial assets equal to 82.6% of its accrued liabilities at that valuation date. The source-reported actuarial unfunded liability stands at $21.67B. This is considered adequately funded.

How does Virginia Retirement System compare to other public pensions?

Virginia Retirement System is a General State plan in Virginia serving 803,024 members. Nationally, the average funded ratio for public pension plans tracked by the Public Plans Database is approximately 75.5%. Virginia Retirement System's source-reconciled actuarial funded ratio of 82.6% places it above the national average, reflecting strong fiscal management.

How many members does Virginia Retirement System have?

Virginia Retirement System covers 803,024 total members, including 356,515 active employees and 236,208 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

Virginia Retirement System

Virginia Retirement System's complete funding picture: assets, unfunded liability, member counts, and investment returns over a 23-year span, as reported to the Public Plans Database (Boston College CRR) and cross-referenced with actuarial valuations.

Browse all states → How we grade plans

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

Actuarial funded ratio: 82.6%
Health grade: CReported funded ratio below full funding
Actuarial assets: $102.88B
Members: 803,024

According to the Public Plans Database, compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, Virginia Retirement System 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.

Larger membership book

Virginia Retirement System ranks #8 of 190 by reported members (803,024), top-third membership book among plans with a count.

Virginia Retirement System in the larger-membership third

According to the Public Plans Database, Virginia Retirement System carries a top-third membership book (803,024, #8 of 190) with a 82.6% actuarial funded ratio (grade C).

82.6%
Funded · #152 of 192: C
Health grade: 803,024
Members · #8 of 190: -24.7pp
FY2001→FY2024

Subscribe to funded-ratio changes (RSS)

Actuarial Unfunded Liability

$21.67B

Very large unfunded liability · source-reported UAAL

Total Members

803,024

active + retired + vested

1-Year Return

6.8%

Near assumed rate · net investment return

-1.8pp vs 5-yr avg

5-Year Avg Return

8.7%

Above assumed rate · annualized, net of fees

B-

Composite Health Score

68/100

Virginia Retirement System

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-

82.6%

Actuarial assets as a share of liabilities

Contribution Discipline B+

106.8%

Share of the actuarially required contribution actually paid

Investment Returns C+

8.7%

5-year annualized investment return

Unfunded Burden B-

17.0%

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 pts funded ratio

Virginia Retirement System's funded ratio rose 1.0 points from FY2023 to FY2024, with assets contributing +5.2 points and the accrued liability contributing -4.2.

Funded ratio

81.6% → 82.6%

Actuarial assets

$96.71B → $102.88B (+6.4%)

Accrued liability

$118.51B → $124.55B (+5.1%)

Where the 1.0-point move came from

Assets: +5.2 pts
Accrued liability: -4.2 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	82.6%	$102.88B	$124.55B	$21.67B	N/A	106.7%	10.5%
2023	81.6%	$96.71B	$118.51B	$21.80B	803,024	106.8%	6.8%
2022	81.4%	$91.18B	$112.03B	$20.86B	778,087	100.0%	-1.0%
2021	79.7%	$85.03B	$106.64B	$21.62B	754,033	100.0%	28.6%
2020	77.3%	$78.76B	$101.89B	$23.13B	727,705	100.0%	-1.6%
2019	76.9%	$76.24B	$99.13B	$22.89B	723,011	100.0%	5.8%
2018	78.6%	$73.20B	$93.17B	$19.97B	706,045	100.0%	7.8%
2017	77.0%	$69.21B	$89.85B	$20.64B	687,818	94.4%	11.9%
2016	74.8%	$65.20B	$87.12B	$21.92B	678,263	86.2%	-0.4%
2015	73.3%	$62.08B	$84.71B	$22.63B	659,770	83.5%	1.6%
2014	69.6%	$57.14B	$82.08B	$24.94B	644,868	75.8%	15.3%
2013	65.9%	$52.12B	$79.08B	$26.95B	630,316	75.8%	10.0%
2012	65.8%	$51.21B	$77.86B	$26.65B	616,009	59.6%	0.6%
2011	69.9%	$52.56B	$75.19B	$22.63B	600,972	46.7%	18.6%
2010	72.4%	$52.73B	$72.80B	$20.07B	596,879	66.6%	14.6%
2009	80.2%	$53.19B	$66.32B	$13.14B	596,226	81.3%	-19.0%
2008	84.0%	$52.55B	$62.55B	$10.01B	600,481	92.6%	-2.6%
2007	82.3%	$47.81B	$58.12B	$10.30B	582,469	85.9%	13.3%
2006	80.8%	$42.67B	$52.82B	$10.15B	562,459	89.5%	5.1%
2005	81.3%	$40.37B	$49.63B	$9.26B	542,831	85.3%	6.6%

What the Data Says About Virginia Retirement System

Virginia Retirement System ranks among the better-funded plans in the database, 7 points above the 75.5% national average across tracked plans. A 5-year average investment return of 8.7% factors into the plan's overall trajectory.

For Virginia taxpayers and plan members, the $21.67B 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

356,515

Active Members

236,208

Retirees

803,024

Total Members

Plan Details

Plan Type: General State
State: Virginia
Market Assets: $105.58B

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

Plans With a Similar Funded Ratio

The closest plans nationwide to Virginia Retirement System's 65.9% funded ratio.

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

Hartford Municipal Employee Retirement Fund 65.9%
Connecticut Teachers Retirement Board 66.2%
Burlington ERS 66.5%
Wyoming Retirement System 65.2%
Connecticut State Employees Retirement System 66.7%

Other Virginia Plans

All Virginia plans →

Read with this plan

Cite this page

PlainPension, “Virginia Retirement System: 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/virginia-retirement-system

Formal citation formats (APA / MLA)

APA: PlainPension. (2023). Virginia Retirement System: Funded Ratio, Assets, and Actuarial Data. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from https://plainpension.com/plan/virginia-retirement-system

MLA: "Virginia Retirement System: Funded Ratio, Assets, and Actuarial Data." PlainPension, 2023, https://plainpension.com/plan/virginia-retirement-system.

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. Virginia Retirement System ranks #152 of 192 by funded ratio and #8 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