North Carolina Retirement Systems vs South Carolina Retirement System
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
North Carolina Retirement Systems and South Carolina Retirement System are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: North Carolina Retirement Systems grades A while South Carolina Retirement System grades C. Funding ratios: 87% vs 55%.
North Carolina Retirement Systems 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
North Carolina Retirement Systems has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to South Carolina Retirement System at 52/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 32.0 percentage points (87.1% vs 55.1%). North Carolina Retirement Systems covers 960,000 participants.
| Metric | North Carolina Retirement Systems | South Carolina Retirement System |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 82/100 (A)* | 52/100 (C) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 87.1%* | 55.1% |
| Total Assets | $112.0B | $35.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $128.6B | $64.4B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $16.6B* | $28.9B |
| Participants | 960,000 | 575,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 6.6%* | 5.2% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | high |
| Sponsor | State of North Carolina | State of South Carolina |
North Carolina Retirement Systems has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to South Carolina Retirement System at 52/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 32.0 percentage points (87.1% vs 55.1%). North Carolina Retirement Systems covers 960,000 participants.