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PensionWatch

California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) vs Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS)

Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data

Verdict

Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 80/100 (A) compared to California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) at 58/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 17.5 percentage points (84.8% vs 67.3%). Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) covers 372,000 participants.

MetricCalifornia Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS)
Health Score
Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk
58/100 (C)80/100 (A)*
Funding Ratio
Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded)
67.3%84.8%*
Total Assets$473.0B$35.5B
Total Liabilities$703.0B$41.9B*
Unfunded Liability$230.0B$6.4B*
Participants2,050,000372,000
1-Year Investment Return5.8%6.4%*
Plan Typepublicpublic
PBGC Risk Levelmoderatelow
SponsorState of CaliforniaState of Iowa

Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 80/100 (A) compared to California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) at 58/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 17.5 percentage points (84.8% vs 67.3%). Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) covers 372,000 participants.

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