Updated May 2026 · Public Plans Database
Mississippi Public Pension Plans
1 pension systems covering 322,000 participants
Mississippi operates a small number of plans (1) covering 322,000 active and retired public workers. Aggregate funding stands at 60.0% — underfunded, meaningfully below benchmark, reflecting accumulated contribution shortfalls and demographic pressure. 1 of 1 plans (100%) report below the 80% actuarial benchmark — a majority of the state's pension footprint, signaling systemic funding pressure across multiple systems.
Mississippi faces meaningful pension-funding pressure: 1 plans, 322,000 participants, $29.0B in assets against $48.3B in liabilities. The 60% average funding ratio sits below national norms, and 1 plans are underfunded enough to require formal funding-improvement plans.
Weak state-level funding ratios usually reflect a combination of contribution-shortfall history, optimistic actuarial assumptions, and slower-than-expected investment growth. Recovery typically requires multi-year sponsor contribution increases plus, in some cases, benefit modifications for new hires. Each plan below links to its full Form 5500 (private) or actuarial valuation (public) profile, with funding-history charts, participant demographics, and the LakeQuality pension-health grade.
What the Funding Ratio Means in Mississippi
Mississippi's aggregate pension funding ratio of 60.0% translates into $29.0B in plan assets against $48.3B in accrued benefit obligations across 1 systems. The aggregate unfunded gap of $19.3B represents the dollar amount that would have to be contributed today, on top of expected investment returns at the assumed discount rate, to fully fund every promised benefit.
That ratio is 15.2 percentage points below the national public-plan average of 75.2% — meaningfully more stressed than the typical state's combined public pension footprint. State-level averages mask important variation between systems within a state: a heavily-funded teachers' retirement system can offset a critically underfunded police-and-fire plan, even though the participants in those plans face very different actuarial realities.
Public pensions in Mississippi are not insured by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Instead, accrued benefits are protected primarily through state constitutional or statutory clauses and the sponsor's taxing authority. Most state supreme courts have held public pension benefits to be contractually protected once accrued, though the legal framework and bargaining context vary significantly by state.
Plans in Mississippi
| Plan Name | Participants | Funding Ratio | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) | 322,000 | 60.1% | C |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Each plan's funding ratio comes from its annual actuarial valuation, compiled by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research Public Plans Database from each system's ACFR. The Pension Health Score combines funding ratio (50% of the composite), 3-year funding trend (30%), and PBGC risk level (20%, set to low for public plans not subject to PBGC). State-level averages are dollar-weighted across all plans in the state. Read the full methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
How well-funded are Mississippi public pensions?
Mississippi's public pensions are on average 60.0% funded across 1 systems. That puts the state below the national public-plan average of 75.2%. Mississippi aggregate assets stand at $29.0B against $48.3B in accrued obligations, leaving an unfunded gap of $19.3B.
Are Mississippi public pensions PBGC-insured?
No. PBGC insurance covers only ERISA-regulated private-sector defined-benefit plans. Public plans like those sponsored by Mississippi state agencies, counties, and municipalities rely instead on state constitutional or statutory benefit protections, the taxing authority of the sponsor, and in some states explicit pension protection clauses. Most state supreme courts have held accrued benefits to be contractually protected, but the legal framework varies by state.
What does the funding ratio actually tell me about my Mississippi pension?
A funding ratio compares plan assets to the present value of accrued benefits at the plan's assumed discount rate (typically 6.5%–7.5% for U.S. public plans). At 60.0%, the state's pensions hold meaningfully below benchmark, reflecting accumulated contribution shortfalls and demographic pressure. The funding ratio is the most-cited single measure of plan health, but it is sensitive to discount-rate assumptions and asset-smoothing methods. Two states with identical real-dollar gaps can post different ratios depending on the methodology they use.
How many Mississippi pensions are underfunded?
1 of 1 plans (100%) report below the 80% actuarial benchmark — a majority of the state's pension footprint, signaling systemic funding pressure across multiple systems.
Where does this state pension data come from?
Every figure on this page comes from the Boston College Center for Retirement Research Public Plans Database — the standard academic compilation of annual valuation reports filed by U.S. state and municipal pension systems. The current dataset reflects valuations available as of May 2026. Public plans are not subject to ERISA reporting; PPD compiles data directly from each system's published Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (now ACFR) and actuarial valuation.
Mississippi operates a small number of plans (1) covering 322,000 active and retired public workers. Aggregate funding stands at 60.0% — underfunded, meaningfully below benchmark, reflecting accumulated contribution shortfalls and demographic pressure. 1 of 1 plans (100%) report below the 80% actuarial benchmark — a majority of the state's pension footprint, signaling systemic funding pressure across multiple systems.