Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund vs Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund and Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund grades C while Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) grades A. Funding ratios: 64% vs 92%.
Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) 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
Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 83/100 (A) compared to Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund at 56/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 28.0 percentage points (92.1% vs 64.1%). Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) covers 378,000 participants.
| Metric | Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund | Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 56/100 (C) | 83/100 (A)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 64.1% | 92.1%* |
| Total Assets | $21.0B | $57.0B |
| Total Liabilities | $32.8B* | $61.9B |
| Unfunded Liability | $11.8B | $4.9B* |
| Participants | 430,000 | 378,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.5% | 6.8%* |
| Plan Type | multiemployer | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | high | low |
| Sponsor | United Association (UA) | State of Tennessee |
Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 83/100 (A) compared to Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund at 56/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 28.0 percentage points (92.1% vs 64.1%). Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) covers 378,000 participants.