Pension Integrity Project

Only 3 states have enough assets set aside in their retirement system to cover promised benefits to public employees: Tennessee (104%), Washington (103%), and South Dakota (100%). At the other end, the bottom three are: Illinois (52%), Kentucky (54%), and New Jersey (55%)—barely half funded.

Out of the 50 states, only three have fully funded public pension systems: Tennessee, Washington, and South Dakota. buff.ly/2MQeJUW

How funded are the public pension systems in your state? Pension Reform News breaks it down. Plus, California proposals that could raise taxpayers’ costs by billions, Oklahoma advances defined contribution retirement plan reforms. buff.ly/2RM9qld

All 50 states ranked by how well they manage state worker pension plans. Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington lead the nation with fully funded systems, while Illinois, Kentucky, and New Jersey remain at the bottom with the deepest shortfalls. 1/3

Retirement benefits promised by public pension systems are one of the largest long-term financial obligations facing state governments. This analysis compares how well each state is funding those obligations. ⬇️ buff.ly/2MQeJUW

Alabama’s public pension funding shortfalls have grown to over $20 billion. buff.ly/KKktmrY

Opinion: State lawmakers prepare to stick taxpayers with more public pension costs and debt whittierdailynews.com/2026/03/13/sta…

State lawmakers prepare to stick taxpayers with more public pension costs and debt sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/03/13/sta…

"Lawmakers should learn from their costly pension mistakes that paved the way for CalPERS to accrue over $160 billion in unfunded pension liabilities for benefits promised to current and past public employees."

Opinion: State lawmakers prepare to stick taxpayers with more public pension costs and debt ocregister.com/2026/03/13/sta…

Policymakers should adopt additional reforms, including more realistic expectations for investment returns. buff.ly/KKktmrY

Despite public pension reforms in 2011 and 2012, Alabama’s pension shortfall has continued to grow as overly optimistic return assumptions have allowed debt to accumulate.

Opinion: California’s taxpayer-backed pension systems invest in Bitcoin and crypto ocregister.com/2026/03/06/cal…

The latest pension reform newsletter reviews guardrails for public pensions investing in crypto, the high costs of rolling back Alaska’s pension reforms, and why unfunded pension liabilities should be treated like other government debt. ⬇️ reason.org/pension-newsle…

A new report by @lengilroy and @MariiFTrujillo examines when assets such as Bitcoin and regulated stablecoins might belong in pension portfolios, and how to set clear limits and transparency rules to protect retirees and taxpayers. buff.ly/NL4vb8N

Bottom line: If public pensions invest in crypto, they should do so cautiously, transparently, and with rules in place to protect taxpayers and retirees from excessive risk. buff.ly/q1sS2xx

Should pensions treat crypto differently than private equity? Both are high-risk and opaque, and deserve tight oversight. The same concerns about volatility and taxpayer risk apply.

Many public pension systems are in debt and under pressure. That’s why any interest in Bitcoin or crypto raises a basic question: Is investing in crypto to fund retirement benefits a good strategy or gambling with taxpayer-backed money?