Hawaii Employees Retirement System
public plan · State of Hawaii · Hilo, HI
Funding History
What This Means for You
Hawaii Employees Retirement System is significantly underfunded at 62%, with $11.8B in unfunded liabilities affecting 135,974 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 | $19.3B | $31.1B | 62.0% | $1.1B |
| 2024 | $18.3B | $29.4B | 62.2% | $1.3B |
| 2023 | $17.8B | $29.7B | 60.0% | $1.3B |
| 2022 | $17.6B | $30.8B | 57.2% | $1.4B |
| 2021 | $16.0B | $24.6B | 64.9% | $1.1B |
Frequently Asked Questions
Hawaii Employees Retirement System is 62% funded, meaning it has 62 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is below the 80% threshold actuaries consider healthy, and may require increased contributions.
Hawaii Employees Retirement System has 135,974 total participants, including 78,306 active employees and 57,668 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Hawaii 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.