Dallas Police & Fire Pension System
public plan · City of Dallas · Dallas, TX
Dallas Police & Fire Pension System is severely underfunded at 45%, with $2.9B in unfunded liability. Plans in this bracket face significant solvency risk and are typically on regulatory funding-improvement plans, with active intervention from PBGC for private plans or state pension boards for public ones.
Dallas Police & Fire Pension System is a government pension plan administered by City of Dallas. Unlike private corporate plans, the benefit guarantee flows from the sponsoring government's ongoing tax authority and contribution obligations rather than from federal insurance. The plan remains active — accruing new benefits for current employees and accepting new participants. Among private-sector single-employer plans, the active status is increasingly rare as employers freeze accruals while continuing to fund existing obligations; public-sector plans are more often still actively accruing.
The plan is mid-sized: $2.4B in assets, 11,200 participants (5,500 active, 5,700 retired). Mid-sized plans often outsource investment management to institutional advisors and follow standard actuarial conventions. Active and retired participants are roughly balanced (5,500 active, 5,700 retired). The plan is in a steady-state cash-flow phase where new accruals offset benefit payments. Annual cash flows: $220M in sponsor contributions versus $320M in benefit payments. Investment performance over the most recent year ran 4.3%, against the plan's assumed long-term return of 7.0%.
PBGC risk classification: high. The plan is on enhanced monitoring and may face funding-improvement or rehabilitation-plan requirements depending on multi-year trajectory. Public plans like Dallas Police & Fire Pension System are not PBGC-insured. The benefit guarantee rests on the sponsoring government's ability and willingness to make required contributions, which interacts with state and local tax-base dynamics.
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filings and Boston College CRR Public Plans Database.
Funding History
What This Means for You
Dallas Police & Fire Pension System is significantly underfunded at 45%, with $2.9B in unfunded liabilities affecting 11,200 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $2.4B | $5.3B | 45.1% | $220.0M |
| 2022 | $2.3B | $5.4B | 43.0% | $213.4M |
| 2021 | $2.3B | $5.1B | 44.0% | $206.8M |
| 2020 | $2.2B | $5.6B | 39.0% | $200.2M |
| 2019 | $2.1B | $5.0B | 42.0% | $193.6M |
Frequently Asked Questions
Dallas Police & Fire Pension 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.
Dallas Police & Fire Pension System has 11,200 total participants, including 5,500 active employees and 5,700 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Dallas Police & Fire Pension 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.