Resources

The National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA) Public Fund Survey tracks key characteristics—funding levels, actuarial assets and liabilities, investment return, employee and employer contribution rates, and other important plan information—of the nation’s largest public retirement systems from 2001 to present. Data come from annual financial reports, actuarial valuations, benefits guides, system websites, and system representatives, and the Survey is updated continuously as new information becomes available. 

 

At the end of Fiscal Year 2017, retirement plans in the Survey held assets of $3.29 trillion. The retirement plans tracked in the Survey provide pension benefits for 12.9 million active or working members and 9.3 million annuitants, which includes retirees, disabilitants and beneficiaries. This membership represents close to 85 percent of all state and local government workers in a retirement plan. 

 

The FY 16 summary includes graphs and descriptions, focusing particularly on plan funding levels, contributions, and investment earnings and assumptions. From FY 16 to FY 17, the aggregate funding ratio of the Survey’s plans dipped to 71.9 percent.