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Pew Charitable Trusts pensions study, 2014
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In 2014 the independent research group Pew Charitable Trusts published a report on the financial health of pension plans in the United States. The Pew report compared information on each state's total liabilities and unfunded liabilities between 2010 and 2012. The Pew Center discovered over $3 trillion total liabilities were owed to pensioners, but about $900 billion went unfunded. California had the highest liability and unfunded liability in the country, at $568 billion and $131 billion, respectively. Vermont had the lowest liability in the country, at about $4.8 billion, while Wisconsin had the lowest unfunded liability in 2012, at only $70 million.
| Pension health metrics from the Pew Charitable Trusts report, 2010-2012 (dollars in millions) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | 2012 | Funded ratio | Percent of ARC paid | ||||||
| Liability | Unfunded | ARC | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Alabama | $42,517 | $14,380 | $947 | 70% | 67% | 66% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Alaska | $18,062 | $8,190 | $589 | 60% | 59% | 55% | 83% | 89% | 88% |
| Arizona | $51,244 | $14,375 | $1,224 | 75% | 73% | 72% | 101% | 101% | 101% |
| Arkansas | $26,255 | $7,510 | $713 | 75% | 72% | 71% | 106% | 98% | 95% |
| California | $567,606 | $131,318 | $16,033 | 78% | 77% | 77% | 75% | 72% | 72% |
| Colorado | $61,791 | $22,711 | $1,174 | 66% | 61% | 63% | 66% | 87% | 85% |
| Connecticut | $48,200 | $24,546 | $1,699 | 53% | 55% | 49% | 87% | 91% | 100% |
| Delaware | $8,900 | $1,037 | $196 | 92% | 91% | 88% | 97% | 98% | 99% |
| Florida | $157,068 | $28,956 | $2,547 | 82% | 82% | 82% | 107% | 80% | 59% |
| Georgia | $86,384 | $16,776 | $1,375 | 85% | 82% | 81% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Hawaii | $20,683 | $8,441 | $655 | 61% | 59% | 59% | 102% | 92% | 84% |
| Idaho | $13,782 | $2,078 | $339 | 79% | 90% | 85% | 113% | 87% | 86% |
| Illinois | $158,612 | $94,582 | $6,612 | 45% | 43% | 40% | 87% | 80% | 76% |
| Indiana | $41,884 | $16,355 | $1,733 | 65% | 63% | 61% | 94% | 84% | 88% |
| Iowa | $30,097 | $6,156 | $593 | 81% | 80% | 80% | 89% | 82% | 97% |
| Kansas | $23,531 | $10,253 | $843 | 62% | 59% | 56% | 72% | 74% | 67% |
| Kentucky | $40,121 | $21,355 | $1,252 | 54% | 51% | 47% | 58% | 114% | 65% |
| Louisiana | $43,736 | $19,306 | $1,968 | 56% | 56% | 56% | 84% | 87% | 96% |
| Maine | $14,012 | $2,935 | $275 | 70% | 80% | 79% | 103% | 102% | 100% |
| Maryland | $58,305 | $20,868 | $2,054 | 64% | 65% | 64% | 87% | 73% | 70% |
| Massachusetts | $71,622 | $28,104 | $1,669 | 71% | 65% | 61% | 65% | 103% | 87% |
| Michigan | $80,521 | $31,159 | $2,395 | 72% | 65% | 61% | 86% | 87% | 80% |
| Minnesota | $62,720 | $15,609 | $1,160 | 80% | 79% | 75% | 65% | 84% | 81% |
| Mississippi | $35,290 | $14,860 | $767 | 64% | 62% | 58% | 100% | 101% | 101% |
| Missouri | $56,986 | $12,523 | $1,295 | 77% | 82% | 78% | 89% | 93% | 96% |
| Montana | $11,908 | $4,303 | $282 | 70% | 66% | 64% | 81% | 75% | 69% |
| Nebraska | $11,484 | $2,426 | $249 | 84% | 82% | 79% | 100% | 91% | 91% |
| Nevada | $38,704 | $11,237 | $1,391 | 70% | 70% | 71% | 92% | 88% | 96% |
| New Hampshire | $10,433 | $4,573 | $257 | 59% | 58% | 56% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| New Jersey | $133,148 | $47,209 | $5,546 | 71% | 68% | 65% | 32% | 32% | 39% |
| New Mexico | $33,887 | $12,489 | $875 | 72% | 67% | 63% | 88% | 91% | 83% |
| New York | $169,266 | $21,457 | $4,585 | 94% | 90% | 87% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| North Carolina | $85,067 | $3,880 | $1,396 | 96% | 95% | 95% | 100% | 81% | 100% |
| North Dakota | $5,513 | $2,014 | $163 | 72% | 69% | 63% | 66% | 52% | 53% |
| Ohio | $191,146 | $63,143 | $4,487 | 67% | 68% | 67% | 67% | 67% | 57% |
| Oklahoma | $33,072 | $11,602 | $1,095 | 56% | 67% | 65% | 70% | 65% | 104% |
| Oregon | $60,405 | $5,621 | $1,239 | 87% | 82% | 91% | 100% | 83% | 72% |
| Pennsylvania | $130,817 | $47,286 | $3,674 | 75% | 68% | 64% | 29% | 31% | 43% |
| Rhode Island | $10,816 | $4,521 | $367 | 49% | 59% | 58% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| South Carolina | $45,202 | $15,647 | $974 | 66% | 68% | 65% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| South Dakota | $8,571 | $638 | $100 | 96% | 96% | 93% | 98% | 102% | 99% |
| Tennessee | $40,069 | $3,389 | $1,003 | 90% | 92% | 92% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Texas | $175,470 | $31,670 | $3,557 | 83% | 83% | 82% | 82% | 81% | 69% |
| Utah | $27,939 | $6,569 | $813 | 82% | 78% | 76% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vermont | $4,754 | $1,418 | $92 | 75% | 73% | 70% | 94% | 95% | 118% |
| Virginia | $81,207 | $28,138 | $1,724 | 72% | 69% | 65% | 67% | 46% | 59% |
| Washington | $66,553 | $3,256 | $1,630 | 95% | 94% | 95% | 53% | 65% | 74% |
| West Virginia | $16,299 | $6,020 | $618 | 58% | 64% | 63% | 93% | 101% | 101% |
| Wisconsin | $78,683 | $70 | $826 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 108% | 104% | 100% |
| Wyoming | $8,300 | $1,691 | $164 | 86% | 83% | 80% | 82% | 96% | 89% |
| Totals in the U.S. | $3,298,643 | $914,653 | $87,213 | 75% | 74% | 72% | 78% | 77% | 77% |
| Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts, "The Fiscal Health of State Pension Plans: Funding Gap Continues to Grow" | |||||||||
