University of California Retirement Plan vs State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
University of California Retirement Plan and State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: University of California Retirement Plan grades B while State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) grades D. Funding ratios: 84% vs 44%.
University of California Retirement Plan 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
University of California Retirement Plan has a stronger Pension Health Score of 78/100 (B) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 39.4 percentage points (83.5% vs 44.1%). University of California Retirement Plan covers 305,000 participants.
| Metric | University of California Retirement Plan | State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 78/100 (B)* | 42/100 (D) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 83.5%* | 44.1% |
| Total Assets | $82.0B | $22.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $98.2B | $51.0B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $16.2B* | $28.5B |
| Participants | 305,000 | 218,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 7.2%* | 5.1% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | critical |
| Sponsor | University of California | State of Illinois |
University of California Retirement Plan has a stronger Pension Health Score of 78/100 (B) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 39.4 percentage points (83.5% vs 44.1%). University of California Retirement Plan covers 305,000 participants.