New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) vs Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) and Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) grades A while Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) grades C. Funding ratios: 95% vs 65%.
New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) 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
New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) at 61/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 30.5 percentage points (95.3% vs 64.8%). New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) covers 1,070,000 participants.
| Metric | New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) | Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 82/100 (A)* | 61/100 (C) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 95.3%* | 64.8% |
| Total Assets | $248.0B | $58.0B |
| Total Liabilities | $260.2B | $89.5B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $12.2B* | $31.5B |
| Participants | 1,070,000 | 625,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 7.1%* | 5.5% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | high |
| Sponsor | State of New York | State of Colorado |
New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) at 61/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 30.5 percentage points (95.3% vs 64.8%). New York State & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) covers 1,070,000 participants.