Washington State Department of Retirement Systems vs New Jersey Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and New Jersey Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) are meaningfully apart on the PensionRisk pension-health rubric: Washington State Department of Retirement Systems grades A while New Jersey Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) grades C. Funding ratios: 88% vs 52%.
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 New Jersey Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) at 54/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 35.5 percentage points (87.8% vs 52.3%). Washington State Department of Retirement Systems covers 528,000 participants.
| Metric | Washington State Department of Retirement Systems | New Jersey 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%* | 52.3% |
| Total Assets | $108.0B | $34.0B |
| Total Liabilities | $123.0B | $65.0B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $15.0B* | $31.0B |
| Participants | 528,000 | 425,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 6.7%* | 5.1% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | high |
| Sponsor | State of Washington | State of New Jersey |
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to New Jersey Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) at 54/100 (C). Funding ratios differ by 35.5 percentage points (87.8% vs 52.3%). Washington State Department of Retirement Systems covers 528,000 participants.
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