Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)
public plan · State of Minnesota · Saint Paul, MN
The plan is moderately funded (79%). $35.0B in assets back $44.2B in projected obligations, leaving $9.2B to close through future contributions and investment returns.
Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) is a government pension plan administered by State of Minnesota. 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.
On scale: $35.0B in plan assets across 378,000 covered participants. With 195,000 workers still accruing and 183,000 drawing benefits, the plan has the size to support institutional asset management and full-time actuarial staff. Active and retired participants are roughly balanced (195,000 active, 183,000 retired). The plan is in a steady-state cash-flow phase where new accruals offset benefit payments. Annual cash flows: $2.0B in sponsor contributions versus $2.8B in benefit payments. Investment performance over the most recent year ran 5.9%, against the plan's assumed long-term return of 7.1%.
PBGC risk classification: moderate. The plan's funded status puts it under enhanced monitoring but not active intervention. Public plans like Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) 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
Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) is in good financial health at 79% funded. This means for every dollar the plan owes in future benefits, it has 79 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 | $35.0B | $44.2B | 79.1% | $2.0B |
| 2022 | $34.0B | $43.5B | 78.0% | $1.9B |
| 2021 | $32.9B | $40.6B | 81.0% | $1.9B |
| 2020 | $31.9B | $42.5B | 75.0% | $1.8B |
| 2019 | $30.8B | $40.0B | 77.0% | $1.8B |
Frequently Asked Questions
Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) is 79% funded, meaning it has 79 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is below the 80% threshold actuaries consider healthy, and may require increased contributions.
Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) has 378,000 total participants, including 195,000 active employees and 183,000 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) 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.