Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) vs Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) grades A while Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) grades B. Funding ratios: 98% vs 70%.
Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) 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
Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 86/100 (A) compared to Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) at 66/100 (B). Funding ratios differ by 28.3 percentage points (98.4% vs 70.1%). Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) covers 665,000 participants.
| Metric | Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) | Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 86/100 (A)* | 66/100 (B) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 98.4%* | 70.1% |
| Total Assets | $122.0B | $31.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $124.0B | $44.9B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $2.0B* | $13.4B |
| Participants | 665,000 | 327,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 7.2%* | 5.5% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | moderate |
| Sponsor | State of Wisconsin | State of Texas |
Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 86/100 (A) compared to Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) at 66/100 (B). Funding ratios differ by 28.3 percentage points (98.4% vs 70.1%). Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) covers 665,000 participants.