Boston Municipal Employees Retirement System
public plan · City of Boston · Worcester, MA
Funding History
What This Means for You
Boston Municipal Employees Retirement System is significantly underfunded at 45%, with $4.0B in unfunded liabilities affecting 36,822 participants. Plans at this funding level face difficult choices: raising contributions substantially, reducing future benefit accruals, or in extreme cases, applying for benefit suspensions. Public plans cannot declare bankruptcy, but severe underfunding may lead to reduced cost-of-living adjustments or increased employee contributions. If you are a participant, it is important to understand your options and consider diversifying your retirement income sources.
Year-by-Year Funding
| Year | Assets | Liabilities | Funding Ratio | Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3.3B | $7.3B | 45.3% | $177.8M |
| 2024 | $3.2B | $7.8B | 41.4% | $170.7M |
| 2023 | $3.1B | $7.5B | 41.1% | $178.1M |
| 2022 | $2.9B | $6.8B | 42.7% | $186.9M |
| 2021 | $2.9B | $5.5B | 52.4% | $138.2M |
Frequently Asked Questions
Boston Municipal Employees Retirement System is 45% funded, meaning it has 45 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is significantly underfunded and participants should monitor the situation closely.
Boston Municipal Employees Retirement System has 36,822 total participants, including 22,601 active employees and 14,221 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Boston Municipal Employees Retirement System is not covered by the PBGC. Benefits depend entirely on the plan's assets and the sponsor's ability to fund it.
The Pension Health Score (0-100, A-F) measures a pension plan's financial strength based on funding ratio (50%), funding trend over 3 years (30%), and PBGC risk level (20%). Higher scores indicate more secure retirement benefits.
Pension Health Score is calculated from funding ratio, 3-year funding trend, and PBGC risk classification.