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PensionWatch

Our Methodology

PensionWatch analyzes the financial health of pension plans serving millions of American workers and retirees. We translate complex actuarial data into plain English so anyone can understand whether their retirement benefits are secure.

Data Sources

  • DOL Form 5500 (EFAST2) — Our primary source for corporate and multiemployer pension plans. Every private pension plan with 100+ participants must file Form 5500 annually with the Department of Labor, disclosing plan assets, liabilities, contributions, and funding status.
  • Boston College Center for Retirement Research (CRR) Public Plans Database — The authoritative source for state and local government pension plan data, covering 220+ of the largest public pension plans in the US.
  • PBGC (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) — Data on plans that are at risk of termination, have been terminated, or are receiving financial assistance from the federal pension insurance program.

How We Calculate the Pension Health Score

Every pension plan receives a Pension Health Score on a 0-100 scale (A-F) based on three factors:

  • Funding Ratio — 50% weight. Plan assets divided by actuarial liabilities (the present value of all promised benefits). A ratio of 100% means the plan has enough assets to pay all promised benefits. Plans below 60% are considered seriously underfunded. This is the single most important indicator of pension health.
  • Funding Trend (3-year) — 30% weight. Whether the funding ratio is improving or deteriorating. A plan at 70% funding that is improving by 3 percentage points per year is in better shape than a plan at 80% funding that is declining by 5 points per year.
  • PBGC Risk Level — 20% weight. Whether the plan is on PBGC's watch list, has applied for special financial assistance (multiemployer plans), or has other PBGC risk indicators.

Letter grades: A (80-100) indicates a well-funded plan with stable or improving trends; F (0-34) indicates a critically underfunded plan with deteriorating trends.

Key Metric: Funding Ratio

The funding ratio is the most-watched pension health metric. However, it depends heavily on actuarial assumptions — particularly the discount rate used to calculate the present value of future liabilities. Plans that use higher discount rates will report higher funding ratios, even though the underlying promise has not changed. We report the funding ratio as disclosed by the plan, using their chosen assumptions.

Data Collection Process

We download Form 5500 filings from the DOL EFAST2 system, extract financial schedules (Schedule H for large plans, Schedule I for small plans), and calculate funding ratios and contribution adequacy. Public plan data is sourced from the CRR Public Plans Database, which standardizes data across different state and local reporting formats.

Update Frequency

Form 5500 filings are due 7 months after the plan year ends, with extensions possible. Most calendar-year plans file by October 15. Public plan data from the CRR database is updated annually. We refresh our dataset as new filings become available.

Known Limitations

  • Actuarial assumptions (discount rate, mortality tables, expected return on assets) vary across plans and significantly affect reported funding ratios. Direct comparisons between plans using different assumptions should be made cautiously.
  • Form 5500 data has a significant lag — the most recent data may be 12-18 months old. Market movements since the filing date can materially change a plan's actual funded status.
  • Small pension plans (under 100 participants) file simplified 5500-SF forms with less detailed financial data.
  • Some plans are frozen (no longer accruing new benefits) — their funding ratio matters primarily for existing retirees, not for current workers.
  • The Pension Health Score is our own composite metric, not a DOL, PBGC, or actuarial designation.

How to Cite This Data

If you use data from PensionWatch, please cite:

PensionWatch. "[Plan Name] Pension Health Data." pensionrisk.org, 2026. Accessed [date].

Underlying data is sourced from DOL Form 5500 filings, Boston College CRR Public Plans Database, and PBGC. All sources are in the public domain.