Public Pension Plan Funded Ratio Rankings 2026

The projected funded status for state and local pension plans improved in fiscal year 2026 for the fourth straight year. But despite another year of solid financial market performance and record high contribution rates, public pension plans are still considered fragile.

Equable Insights

Top 5 at a Glance

1. Washington Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters Retirement System – Plan 1: 190.0% Funded
2. Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System: 119.6% Funded
3. Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System – State Employees Cash Balance: 119.4% Funded
4. Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System: 116.3% Funded
5. District of Columbia Police Officers and Fire Fighters Retirement Fund: 116.0% Funded

Bottom 5 at a Glance

1. California Judges Retirement Fund: 2.8% Funded (Pay-as-you-go)
2. Chicago Municipal Employees Annuity Benefit Fund: 24.6% Funded
3. Firemens Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago: 25.7% Funded
4. Chicago Policemens Annuity Benefit Fund: 26.9% Funded
5. Park Employees Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago: 33.7% Funded

What is the National Average Funded Ratio for Public Pension Plans?

Between 2025 and 2026, we project the average national funded ratio increased to 85.0% from 81.2%, though unfunded liabilities remained elevated at an estimated $1.13 trillion.

This marks 19 consecutive years with an average funded ratio below 90%, the minimum threshold for pension plans to be considered resilient.

Last year’s 10.4% average investment return was better than the average assumed rate of return used by public plans (6.9%), but it was less than the performance of most major public equity indices.

Generally, this is attributable to strong equity market returns at a time when global markets reached record highs. For example, the S&P 500 stock market index notched a total return of 17.9% for the 2025 calendar year, even in the face of significant market volatility and recession risks.

There’s no question that the aggregate funded status for public pension plans, while improved, is still mediocre. At the state and plan level, however, funded ratios and unfunded liabilities vary widely.

Which Public Pension Plans Rank Highest in 2026?

Many of the best-funded pension plans in our funded ratio rankings, as of fiscal year 2026, were also on the 2025 list, while others moved up to claim a top spot.

Nine of the top 15 plans by funded status are from just four states: Michigan (three plans), Nebraska (two plans), Tennessee (two plans), and Washington (two plans). 

Many of the plans also appeared on our 2025 list, including the top two (Washington LEOFF Plan 1 and Oklahoma PERS), while the Nebraska PERS – State Employees Cash Balance moved up several spots to round out the top three.

Newcomers to the 2026 list include Michigan SERS, West Virginia PERS, and the Nebraska PERS – School Employees Plan.

Which Public Pension Plans Rank Lowest in 2026?

Similarly, many of the worst-funded plans on this year’s pension plan funded ratio rankings list were also at the bottom of 2025’s ranking.

For example, Illinois plans occupy eight of the bottom 15 spots, down one from last year, while select plans from Arizona, New Jersey, and Kentucky also appear for another consecutive year. The California Judges’ Retirement Fund, funded on a pay-as-you-go basis, is the worst-funded plan once again.

The average funded ratio for the bottom 15 plans was largely unchanged year over year, coming in at 36.9% in 2026 versus 37.2% in 2025 (excluding California Judges’ Retirement Fund, the average is 40.2%). However, while all of the bottom 15 plans fall into the “distressed” (below 60%) category in terms of funded status, some of the worst-funded plans did show improvement.

Kentucky ERS NH, for example, was just 31.2% funded in 2025 versus 37.3% funded in 2026. Meanwhile, the funded ratio for the Arizona Elected Officials Retirement Plan improved to 47.6% in 2026 from 45.5% in 2025. Several other plans also showed mild improvements.

Pension Plan Funded Ratio Rankings by State

As noted previously, funded ratios and unfunded liabilities vary widely between states. While a handful are resilient, the majority fall into either the fragile or distressed categories.

In 2025, six states plus the District of Columbia have funded ratios of 100% or above. We consider these to be resilient as of the latest data, and plans from many of these states appear on our top 15 list above. 

Eleven states have funded ratios between 90% and 99.9%, 13 states are between 80% and 89.9% funded, 15 states are between 70% and 79.9% funded, and three states are 60% to 69.9% funded. We classify the states in this range as fragile.

On the bottom of the list are New Jersey and Illinois, which are considered distressed with overall funded ratios below 60%.

All Plans Ranked by 2026 Funded Status

Curious where a particular plan ranks overall among all of the plans in our database? Use the search function in the table below or scroll through each page to find the assets, liabilities, and funded ratio for your plan.