Washington State Retirement Systems

  • The state of Washington currently has $114 billion in assets and $13.8 billion in unfunded liabilities.
  • The Tax Foundation ranks Washington #9 in the United States in terms of pension fund health
  • The Washington State pension fund covers 84% of liabilities based on an assumed rate of return of 7.7%
  • According to ALEC however, using a more conservative rate of return, the Washington pension system is just 36% funded. ALEC uses a risk-free return rate of 2.142% (the yield of an average U.S. Treasury bond.)

Resources:
Mercatus Center State Fiscal Health Report
Washington State Retirement Fund Report 2017
Urban Institute Washington Pension Report

Updated June 2019 based on 2017-18 data.