Louisiana State Employees Retirement System
public plan · State of Louisiana · Baton Rouge, LA
Funding History
What This Means for You
Louisiana State Employees Retirement System is significantly underfunded at 63%, with $7.1B in unfunded liabilities affecting 114,858 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 | $12.1B | $19.2B | 63.2% | $926.3M |
| 2024 | $12.0B | $19.2B | 62.5% | $793.1M |
| 2023 | $11.5B | $18.4B | 62.9% | $814.1M |
| 2022 | $11.0B | $17.5B | 63.0% | $949.1M |
| 2021 | $10.3B | $15.4B | 66.9% | $1.0B |
Frequently Asked Questions
Louisiana State Employees Retirement System is 63% funded, meaning it has 63 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is below the 80% threshold actuaries consider healthy, and may require increased contributions.
Louisiana State Employees Retirement System has 114,858 total participants, including 73,782 active employees and 41,076 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Louisiana State 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.