Top 10 Worst-Funded State Pensions: 2015

All 50 states have pension systems in place for their workers that were founded on the promise of providing for workers’ retirements. Unfortunately, budget pressures have led lawmakers in many states to delay making required payments to pension funds, leaving employees to wonder about the future.

Pew Charitable Trusts in July released a report looking at where all 50 state pension plans stand. The results can best be categorized as the good, the mediocre and the ugly. Today we are focusing on the ugly. The really ugly.

Using the latest data available, from 2013, Pew ranked the states by the percentage of their pensions that were funded. Only two states were deemed fully funded, while several were at 60% or less.

(See Top 10 Best-Funded State Pensions: 2015.)

Whether the upturn in the markets and new accounting rules designed to allow lawmakers to get a better picture of the financial state of their pension systems will help close the total trillion-dollar shortfall facing state pension funds remains to be seen.

For the worst-funded pensions systems, it will take a lot of fiscal discipline and some luck with investment returns to catch up.

Check out the Top 10 Worst-Funded State Pension Funds for 2015:

10. (tie) Hawaii

Liability: $21.2 billion

Unfunded: $8.5 billion

% Funded: 60

10. (tie) Kansas

Liability: $24.3 billion

Unfunded: $9.8 billion

% Funded: 60%

10. (tie) Michigan

Liability: $81.7 billion

Unfunded: $32.8 billion

% Funded: 60%

7. (tie) Louisiana

Liability: $45.4 billion

Unfunded: $19 billion

% Funded: 58%

7. (tie) Rhode Island