South Carolina Retirement System vs New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
South Carolina Retirement System and New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: South Carolina Retirement System grades C while New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) grades A. Funding ratios: 55% vs 97%.
New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) 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 Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to South Carolina Retirement System at 52/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 42.0 percentage points (97.1% vs 55.1%). New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) covers 433,000 participants.
| Metric | South Carolina Retirement System | New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 52/100 (C) | 82/100 (A)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 55.1% | 97.1%* |
| Total Assets | $35.5B | $131.0B |
| Total Liabilities | $64.4B* | $134.9B |
| Unfunded Liability | $28.9B | $3.9B* |
| Participants | 575,000 | 433,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.2% | 6.8%* |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | high | low |
| Sponsor | State of South Carolina | State of New York |
New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to South Carolina Retirement System at 52/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 42.0 percentage points (97.1% vs 55.1%). New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) covers 433,000 participants.