Washington State Department of Retirement Systems
public plan · State of Washington · Olympia, WA
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems is moderately funded at 88% — assets of $108.0B against $123.0B in actuarial liabilities. Unfunded liability sits at $15.0B. Plans in this band are common and often follow regulatory amortization schedules to close the gap over time.
State of Washington runs Washington State Department of Retirement Systems as a public-sector defined-benefit plan. The plan operates outside the ERISA framework; oversight comes from state pension boards and the sponsor's legislative body rather than the federal Department of Labor or PBGC. 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, Washington State Department of Retirement Systems is a mega-plan: $108.0B in assets serving 528,000 participants (275,000 active, 253,000 retired). Plans this large dominate the U.S. pension landscape and carry concentrated solvency risk. The participant mix runs roughly even between 275,000 active workers and 253,000 retirees — a balanced demographic profile that gives the plan time to compound investment returns before payouts dominate cash flow. Annual cash flows: $5.5B in sponsor contributions versus $7.2B in benefit payments. Investment performance over the most recent year ran 6.7%, 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 Washington State Department of Retirement Systems 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
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems is in excellent financial health at 88% funded. This means for every dollar the plan owes in future benefits, it has 88 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 | $108.0B | $123.0B | 87.8% | $5.5B |
| 2022 | $104.8B | $120.4B | 87.0% | $5.3B |
| 2021 | $101.5B | $112.8B | 90.0% | $5.2B |
| 2020 | $98.3B | $117.0B | 84.0% | $5.0B |
| 2019 | $95.0B | $110.5B | 86.0% | $4.8B |
Frequently Asked Questions
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems is 88% funded, meaning it has 88 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is considered healthy by actuarial standards.
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems has 528,000 total participants, including 275,000 active employees and 253,000 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Washington State Department of Retirement Systems 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.