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PensionWatch

South Carolina Retirement Systems

public plan · State of South Carolina · Columbia, SC

ACTIVE
F
Pension Health Score
34/100
Funding Status54% Funded
0%80% threshold100%
$39.2B
Total Assets
$72.9B
Total Liabilities
$33.7B
Unfunded Liability
595,738
Participants

Funding History

What This Means for You

South Carolina Retirement Systems is significantly underfunded at 54%, with $33.7B in unfunded liabilities affecting 595,738 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$39.2B$72.9B53.7%$2.7B
2024$37.0B$65.2B56.8%$2.7B
2023$37.0B$72.2B51.2%$3.5B
2022$33.7B$71.2B47.4%$2.5B
2021$33.5B$53.4B62.7%$2.3B