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PensionWatch

Hawaii Employees Retirement System

public plan · State of Hawaii · Hilo, HI

ACTIVE
D
Pension Health Score
48/100
Funding Status62% Funded
0%80% threshold100%
$19.3B
Total Assets
$31.1B
Total Liabilities
$11.8B
Unfunded Liability
135,974
Participants

Funding History

What This Means for You

Hawaii Employees Retirement System is significantly underfunded at 62%, with $11.8B in unfunded liabilities affecting 135,974 participants. Plans at this funding level face difficult choices: raising contributions substantially, reducing future benefit accruals, or in extreme cases, applying for benefit suspensions. Public plans cannot declare bankruptcy, but severe underfunding may lead to reduced cost-of-living adjustments or increased employee contributions. If you are a participant, it is important to understand your options and consider diversifying your retirement income sources.

Year-by-Year Funding

YearAssetsLiabilitiesFunding RatioContributions
2025$19.3B$31.1B62.0%$1.1B
2024$18.3B$29.4B62.2%$1.3B
2023$17.8B$29.7B60.0%$1.3B
2022$17.6B$30.8B57.2%$1.4B
2021$16.0B$24.6B64.9%$1.1B