Updated May 2026 · DOL Form 5500 + Public Plans Database
Grade B Pension Plans, Healthy
53 plans rated Grade B. These plans are in good condition but may have minor funding gaps or flat trends.
Grade B (Healthy, score band 65–79/100) — 53 pension plans currently sit in this tier. These plans are in good condition but may have minor funding gaps or flat trends.
Grade B captures plans above the median on the LakeQuality rubric: funded ratios in the 85-95% range, stable trends, low-to-moderate PBGC risk. 53 plans grade B.
The LakeQuality pension-health rubric weights funding ratio (50%), multi-year funding trend (30%), and PBGC risk classification (20%) into a single 0-100 composite. The letter grade summarizes the composite. For participants, the grade is a triage signal — useful for identifying which plans warrant deeper review. The plan-specific page surfaces the underlying funding-history, contribution-vs-benefit-payment cash flow, and PBGC status that drive the composite.
What Grade B Means in Practice
Grade B plans are solidly funded but lack the cushion of Grade A. They typically post funding ratios in the 80%–95% band with mostly flat or modestly improving trends. Sponsors of Grade B plans are usually disciplined contributors with one or two factors holding back the score — often a recent discount-rate change or a phased-in asset-smoothing recovery from a prior down year. Grade B is the modal grade for ongoing U.S. defined-benefit plans.
Across the listed Grade B plans, the average funding ratio is 74.7% and aggregate unfunded liability totals $643.1B. The Pension Health Score combines three signals: funding ratio from DOL Form 5500 Schedule SB or MB for ERISA plans and the Public Plans Database for state and municipal systems (50% of the composite), 3-year funding trend measuring the change in funding ratio across recent valuations (30%), and PBGC risk level from PBGC publications (20%, set to low for public plans not subject to PBGC).
A grade is not a recommendation. Participants concerned about a specific plan should review their most recent Annual Funding Notice (mailed under ERISA Section 101(f)) and consult a fee-only fiduciary advisor for plan-specific decisions. PensionRisk does not provide investment advice and does not predict pension failures.
Plans Currently Rated Grade B
| # | Plan Name | Type | State | Participants | Funding Ratio | Unfunded Gap | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) State of Texas | public | TX | 1,730,000 | 78.1% | $54.0B | 72 |
| 2 | Florida Retirement System (FRS) State of Florida | public | FL | 1,065,000 | 82.2% | $41.1B | 76 |
| 3 | California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) State of California | public | CA | 985,000 | 72.9% | $118.0B | 73 |
| 4 | Virginia Retirement System (VRS) State of Virginia | public | VA | 740,000 | 75.1% | $28.8B | 70 |
| 5 | Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) State of Arizona | public | AZ | 588,000 | 72.3% | $17.6B | 68 |
| 6 | Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS) State of Indiana | public | IN | 425,000 | 78.2% | $10.3B | 70 |
| 7 | Georgia Teachers Retirement System (TRS) State of Georgia | public | GA | 405,000 | 77.4% | $21.6B | 70 |
| 8 | Maryland State Retirement & Pension System State of Maryland | public | MD | 398,000 | 72.1% | $23.6B | 67 |
| 9 | Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) State of Minnesota | public | MN | 378,000 | 79.1% | $9.2B | 71 |
| 10 | Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) State of Oregon | public | OR | 375,000 | 77.3% | $24.7B | 72 |
| 11 | NYC Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) New York City | public | NY | 370,000 | 76.8% | $23.3B | 71 |
| 12 | Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) State of Kansas | public | KS | 328,000 | 72.3% | $9.5B | 68 |
| 13 | Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) State of Texas | public | TX | 327,000 | 70.1% | $13.4B | 66 |
| 14 | University of California Retirement Plan University of California | public | CA | 305,000 | 83.5% | $16.2B | 78 |
| 15 | NYC Teachers Retirement System (TRS) New York City | public | NY | 225,000 | 74.2% | $32.0B | 68 |
| 16 | School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) State of Ohio | public | OH | 218,000 | 67.9% | $7.7B | 66 |
| 17 | Nevada Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) State of Nevada | public | NV | 218,000 | 76.2% | $15.7B | 69 |
| 18 | Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association (TRA) State of Minnesota | public | MN | 195,000 | 79.8% | $7.1B | 72 |
| 19 | Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) Los Angeles County | public | CA | 186,000 | 75.2% | $24.2B | 70 |
| 20 | Alabama Teachers Retirement System (TRS) State of Alabama | public | AL | 178,000 | 68.2% | $12.8B | 65 |
| 21 | Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System State of Oklahoma | public | OK | 162,000 | 67.8% | $8.6B | 66 |
| 22 | Georgia Employees Retirement System (ERS) State of Georgia | public | GA | 138,000 | 77.2% | $5.3B | 70 |
| 23 | Alabama Employees Retirement System (ERS) State of Alabama | public | AL | 132,000 | 69.8% | $6.7B | 67 |
| 24 | Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) State of Missouri | public | MO | 120,000 | 72.2% | $3.7B | 67 |
| 25 | Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) State of Minnesota | public | MN | 112,000 | 77.3% | $4.3B | 70 |
| 26 | Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS) State of Arkansas | public | AR | 112,000 | 71.9% | $7.2B | 67 |
| 27 | New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) State of New Mexico | public | NM | 108,000 | 67.9% | $7.7B | 66 |
| 28 | Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS) State of Arkansas | public | AR | 98,000 | 74.8% | $3.2B | 70 |
| 29 | Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) State of Oklahoma | public | OK | 88,000 | 70.3% | $4.3B | 67 |
| 30 | Lockheed Martin Corporation Retirement Plan Lockheed Martin | corporate | MD | 84,564 | 78.8% | $4.7B | 70 |
| 31 | Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) State of Maine | public | ME | 76,000 | 80.2% | $4.1B | 78 |
| 32 | Montana Public Employee Retirement Administration (MPERA) State of Montana | public | MT | 65,000 | 75.2% | $4.1B | 69 |
| 33 | Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) State of Delaware | public | DE | 62,000 | 82.1% | $2.4B | 79 |
| 34 | NYC Police Pension Fund New York City | public | NY | 60,000 | 78.3% | $13.6B | 71 |
| 35 | West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System State of West Virginia | public | WV | 60,000 | 78.1% | $1.7B | 70 |
| 36 | Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) State of Ohio | public | OH | 56,000 | 73.8% | $6.2B | 69 |
| 37 | Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System (LACERS) City of Los Angeles | public | CA | 49,000 | 75.8% | $6.4B | 70 |
| 38 | Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) Orange County | public | CA | 46,000 | 76.2% | $6.4B | 71 |
| 39 | West Virginia Teachers Retirement System State of West Virginia | public | WV | 45,000 | 68.3% | $2.7B | 66 |
| 40 | North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System (NDPERS) State of North Dakota | public | ND | 44,000 | 68.3% | $1.9B | 66 |
| 41 | Wyoming Retirement System (WRS) State of Wyoming | public | WY | 38,000 | 77.8% | $2.3B | 70 |
| 42 | Alaska Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) State of Alaska | public | AK | 38,000 | 67.8% | $3.4B | 66 |
| 43 | NYC Fire Department Pension Fund New York City | public | NY | 28,000 | 76.2% | $5.5B | 69 |
| 44 | Sacramento County Employees Retirement System (SCERS) Sacramento County | public | CA | 27,000 | 80.2% | $2.9B | 78 |
| 45 | Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association Contra Costa County | public | CA | 23,000 | 78.3% | $2.8B | 71 |
| 46 | Vermont State Employees Retirement System State of Vermont | public | VT | 22,000 | 67.9% | $1.1B | 66 |
| 47 | Denver Employees Retirement Plan City of Denver | public | CO | 21,000 | 79.2% | $1.3B | 71 |
| 48 | San Diego City Employees Retirement System (SDCERS) City of San Diego | public | CA | 20,500 | 73.3% | $3.7B | 70 |
| 49 | Detroit General Retirement System City of Detroit | public | MI | 20,000 | 71.8% | $780.0M | 71 |
| 50 | Phoenix Employees Retirement System City of Phoenix | public | AZ | 18,000 | 68.1% | $1.5B | 67 |
| 51 | San Jose Federated City Employees Retirement System City of San Jose | public | CA | 12,000 | 74.2% | $1.5B | 68 |
| 52 | General Motors Hourly-Rate Employees Pension Plan General Motors | corporate | MI | 11,395 | 77.1% | $219.7M | 65 |
| 53 | International Brotherhood of Boilermakers National Pension Trust Boilermakers Union | multiemployer | KS | 729 | 71.4% | $55.9M | 79 |
How Grades Are Calculated
The Pension Health Score is a 0–100 composite that maps to letter grades: A (80+), B (65–79), C (50–64), D (35–49), F (below 35). Funding ratio at 100% scores 100; at 50% scores 0; with linear interpolation in between. Trend is scored from −10 percentage points (score 0) to +10 percentage points (score 100). PBGC risk is scored 100 (low), 65 (moderate), 30 (high), 0 (critical). The three factors are weighted 50/30/20 to produce the composite. Read the full methodology.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Grade B pension plan mean?
A Grade B pension plan is solidly funded with manageable risk (Pension Health Score band 65–79/100). The grade combines three factors: funding ratio (50% of the composite), 3-year funding trend (30%), and PBGC risk level (20%). Grade B plans are solidly funded but lack the cushion of Grade A. They typically post funding ratios in the 80%–95% band with mostly flat or modestly improving trends. Sponsors of Grade B plans are usually disciplined contributors with one or two factors holding back the score — often a recent discount-rate change or a phased-in asset-smoothing recovery from a prior down year. Grade B is the modal grade for ongoing U.S. defined-benefit plans.
How many pension plans are rated Grade B?
PensionRisk currently tracks 53 pension plans at Grade B. The top 53 are listed below by participant count and funding context, covering 11,636,188 active and retired participants in aggregate.
Should I be worried about a Grade B pension?
These plans are in good condition but may have minor funding gaps or flat trends.
What is the average funding ratio of Grade B plans?
Across the listed Grade B plans, the average funding ratio is 74.7%. Aggregate unfunded liability totals $643.1B across plans below 100% funded. None of these figures are projections — they are the values plan sponsors filed with regulators.
Where does the grading data come from?
Funding ratios come from DOL EBSA Form 5500 Schedule SB or MB for ERISA-covered plans, the Boston College Center for Retirement Research Public Plans Database for state and municipal systems, and PBGC publications for at-risk and Critical-status designations. The current dataset reflects filings available as of May 2026. PensionRisk is a data and education site — none of the content here is investment advice.
Grade B (Healthy, score band 65–79/100) — 53 pension plans currently sit in this tier. These plans are in good condition but may have minor funding gaps or flat trends.