NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) vs New Jersey Teachers Pension & Annuity Fund (TPAF)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) and New Jersey Teachers Pension & Annuity Fund (TPAF) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) grades B while New Jersey Teachers Pension & Annuity Fund (TPAF) grades C. Funding ratios: 77% vs 48%.
NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) 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
NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 71/100 (B) compared to New Jersey Teachers Pension & Annuity Fund (TPAF) at 51/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 28.7 percentage points (76.8% vs 48.1%). NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) covers 370,000 participants.
| Metric | NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) | New Jersey Teachers Pension & Annuity Fund (TPAF) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 71/100 (B)* | 51/100 (C) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 76.8%* | 48.1% |
| Total Assets | $77.2B | $28.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $100.5B | $59.3B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $23.3B* | $30.8B |
| Participants | 370,000 | 268,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.6%* | 4.9% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | moderate | high |
| Sponsor | New York City | State of New Jersey |
NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 71/100 (B) compared to New Jersey Teachers Pension & Annuity Fund (TPAF) at 51/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 28.7 percentage points (76.8% vs 48.1%). NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) covers 370,000 participants.