According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 5,000 public sector retirement systems exist in the U.S. Some of the roughly 300 state-administered plans and 5,000 locally-administered plans date back to the 19 th century and each has evolved independently. Collectively, these plans have:
Most public pension plans release financial reports with information on pension trust cash flows and plan membership as well as actuarial data on plan assets, liabilities, and annual costs. These financial reports are prepared in compliance with the accounting standards set by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and can be found on most plans’ websites. Significant differences exist among plans: the benefit design of their plans, manner in which plans are funded, membership composition, and investment policy. This quick-fact page highlights the aggregate status of public pension plans across the nation, as reported in their own financial documents.
State and local government pension benefits are paid from trust funds to which public employees and their employers contributed while they were working, not from general operating revenues. Trust fund assets are invested and grow over time. The combined value of defined benefit plan assets held by state and local governments as of Q2 2022 decreased to $5.3 trillion, from $5.7 trillion as of Q2 2021 (Federal Reserve Flow of Funds, June 2023). PPD data covers the period from 2001 to the most recently available plan reports, and the historical charts presented in this page mirror the period for which PPD data are available.
State and Local Defined Benefit Plan Assets Year-End, 1992- (Trillions)
| Fiscal Year | PPD | Flow of Funds |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | null | 0.9 |
| 1993 | null | 1.0 |
| 1994 | null | 1.1 |
| 1995 | null | 1.2 |
| 1996 | null | 1.4 |
| 1997 | null | 1.7 |
| 1998 | null | 2.0 |
| 1999 | null | 2.2 |
| 2000 | null | 2.4 |
| 2001 | 2.1 | 2.3 |
| 2002 | 1.9 | 2.2 |
| 2003 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| 2004 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| 2005 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| 2006 | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| 2007 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
| 2008 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
| 2009 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| 2010 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| 2011 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| 2012 | 2.8 | 3.0 |
| 2013 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| 2014 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| 2015 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
| 2016 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| 2017 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| 2018 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
| 2019 | 4.1 | 4.4 |
| 2020 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
| 2021 | 5.1 | 5.7 |
| 2022 | 4.8 | 5.3 |
Note: PPD data begins in 2001.
Source: Public Plans Database; Federal Flow of Funds