Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS)
public plan · State of Delaware · Dover, DE
Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) is moderately funded at 82% — assets of $10.8B against $13.2B in actuarial liabilities. Unfunded liability sits at $2.4B. Plans in this band are common and often follow regulatory amortization schedules to close the gap over time.
Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) is a public-sector pension plan sponsored by State of Delaware — covering government employees (state, local, or special-district workers). Public plans are not ERISA-governed and not PBGC-insured; they rely on state-level oversight and tax-base solvency. 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.
Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) is among the larger U.S. pension plans by asset base ($10.8B). The participant pool of 62,000 divides into 32,000 actives and 30,000 retirees, a mix that shapes both cash-flow profile and investment-horizon choices. The participant mix runs roughly even between 32,000 active workers and 30,000 retirees — a balanced demographic profile that gives the plan time to compound investment returns before payouts dominate cash flow. Annual cash flows: $520M in sponsor contributions versus $680M in benefit payments. Investment performance over the most recent year ran 6.2%, against the plan's assumed long-term return of 7.0%.
On PBGC risk classification: low — the plan's funded status and solvency trajectory are favorable enough that PBGC intervention is not on the near-term horizon. Public plans like Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) 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
Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) is in good financial health at 82% funded. This means for every dollar the plan owes in future benefits, it has 82 cents in assets to cover it. As a public pension, benefits are typically backed by the taxing authority of the sponsoring government. Participants in this plan have relatively low risk of benefit reductions.
Year-by-Year Funding
| Year | Assets | Liabilities | Funding Ratio | Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $10.8B | $13.2B | 82.1% | $520.0M |
| 2022 | $10.5B | $12.9B | 81.0% | $504.4M |
| 2021 | $10.2B | $12.1B | 84.0% | $488.8M |
| 2020 | $9.8B | $12.6B | 78.0% | $473.2M |
| 2019 | $9.5B | $11.9B | 80.0% | $457.6M |
Frequently Asked Questions
Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) is 82% funded, meaning it has 82 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is considered healthy by actuarial standards.
Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) has 62,000 total participants, including 32,000 active employees and 30,000 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Delaware Public Employees Retirement System (DPERS) 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.