Virginia Retirement System (VRS) vs UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Virginia Retirement System (VRS) grades B while UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund grades A. Funding ratios: 75% vs 86%.
UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund 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
UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund has a stronger Pension Health Score of 93/100 (A) compared to Virginia Retirement System (VRS) at 70/100 (B). Funding ratios differ by 10.8 percentage points (85.9% vs 75.1%). UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund covers 365,494 participants.
| Metric | Virginia Retirement System (VRS) | UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 70/100 (B) | 93/100 (A)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 75.1% | 85.9%* |
| Total Assets | $87.0B | $5.2B |
| Total Liabilities | $115.8B | $6.0B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $28.8B | $848.9M* |
| Participants | 740,000 | 365,494 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 6.0%* | 4.8% |
| Plan Type | public | multiemployer |
| PBGC Risk Level | moderate | low |
| Sponsor | State of Virginia | UFCW International |
UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund has a stronger Pension Health Score of 93/100 (A) compared to Virginia Retirement System (VRS) at 70/100 (B). Funding ratios differ by 10.8 percentage points (85.9% vs 75.1%). UFCW International Union Industry Pension Fund covers 365,494 participants.