Washington State Department of Retirement Systems vs Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Washington State Department of Retirement Systems grades A while Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) grades C. Funding ratios: 88% vs 60%.
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems 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
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) at 54/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 27.7 percentage points (87.8% vs 60.1%). Washington State Department of Retirement Systems covers 528,000 participants.
| Metric | Washington State Department of Retirement Systems | Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 82/100 (A)* | 54/100 (C) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 87.8%* | 60.1% |
| Total Assets | $108.0B | $29.0B |
| Total Liabilities | $123.0B | $48.3B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $15.0B* | $19.3B |
| Participants | 528,000 | 322,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 6.7%* | 5.3% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | high |
| Sponsor | State of Washington | State of Mississippi |
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) at 54/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 27.7 percentage points (87.8% vs 60.1%). Washington State Department of Retirement Systems covers 528,000 participants.