California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) vs Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) grades C while Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund grades A. Funding ratios: 67% vs 94%.
Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund comes out ahead on the composite rubric. For a participant in either plan, the spread is informative but not directly actionable — pension participation is not portable, so the relevant question is what each plan's funded-status trajectory means for that participant's benefit security.
Verdict
Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund has a stronger Pension Health Score of 97/100 (A) compared to California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) at 58/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 26.8 percentage points (94.1% vs 67.3%). Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund covers 634,861 participants.
| Metric | California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) | Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 58/100 (C) | 97/100 (A)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 67.3% | 94.1%* |
| Total Assets | $473.0B | $55.6B |
| Total Liabilities | $703.0B | $59.1B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $230.0B | $3.5B* |
| Participants | 2,050,000 | 634,861 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.8%* | 4.5% |
| Plan Type | public | multiemployer |
| PBGC Risk Level | moderate | low |
| Sponsor | State of California | Teamsters Central States |
Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund has a stronger Pension Health Score of 97/100 (A) compared to California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) at 58/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 26.8 percentage points (94.1% vs 67.3%). Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund covers 634,861 participants.