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PensionRisk

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) vs Houston Municipal Employees Pension System

Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) (B) and Houston Municipal Employees Pension System (C) are close on the LakeQuality rubric. Funding ratios sit at 78% and 58% respectively — within a few points of each other.

With grades this close, the comparison turns on plan-specific factors: status (active vs frozen), participant maturity, sponsor financial health, and multi-year trajectory rather than the headline composite.

Verdict

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 72/100 (B) compared to Houston Municipal Employees Pension System at 55/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 19.9 percentage points (78.1% vs 58.2%). Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) covers 1,730,000 participants.

MetricTeacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)Houston Municipal Employees Pension System
Health Score
Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk
72/100 (B)*55/100 (C)
Funding Ratio
Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded)
78.1%*58.2%
Total Assets$193.0B$4.5B
Total Liabilities$247.0B$7.7B*
Unfunded Liability$54.0B$3.2B*
Participants1,730,00028,000
1-Year Investment Return6.1%*5.1%
Plan Typepublicpublic
PBGC Risk Levelmoderatehigh
SponsorState of TexasCity of Houston

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 72/100 (B) compared to Houston Municipal Employees Pension System at 55/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 19.9 percentage points (78.1% vs 58.2%). Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) covers 1,730,000 participants.

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