Pension health in Louisiana

in  Louisiana

* Fiscal
* Budgets
* Louisiana state budget and finances
* Tax policy in Louisiana
* Finance
* Financial regulation in Louisiana
* Pensions
* Public pensions in Louisiana
* Pension health in Louisiana
* Civil liberties
* Affirmative action in Louisiana
* Campaign finance requirements in Louisiana
* Campaign finance requirements for Louisiana ballot measures
* Nonprofit regulation in Louisiana
* Education
* Charter schools in Louisiana
* Higher education in Louisiana
* Public education in Louisiana
* School choice in Louisiana
* Elections
* Ballot access
* Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Louisiana
* Ballot access requirements for political parties in Louisiana
* Political parties in Louisiana
* Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Louisiana
* Redistricting in Louisiana
* Voting in Louisiana
* Energy and Environment
* Energy policy in Louisiana
* Fracking in Louisiana
* Oil and gas extraction on federal land in Louisiana
* Endangered species in Louisiana
* Environmental policy in Louisiana
* Healthcare
* Healthcare policy in Louisiana
* Medicaid spending in Louisiana
* Effect of the Affordable Care Act in Louisiana
* Immigration
* Immigration in Louisiana

* * *

This article does not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.

* * *

* * *

Louisiana pension health[1]
Liability (2015) (in millions):
$50,259
Debt (2015) (in millions):
$18,440
Funded ratio (2015):
63%
Percentage paid (2015):
143%

* * *

Note: This page utilizes information from a variety of sources. The information presented on this page reflects the most recent data available as of August 2017.

Pension health is a term used to describe the fiscal condition of a pension system. It can be difficult to gauge pension health in each state; studies use a variety of calculations to determine a pension system's average liabilities, unfunded liabilities, funded ratio, and other metrics. The information on this page comes from two reports by two separate organizations: the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Hoover Institution.

HIGHLIGHTS

* According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, the funded ratio for Louisiana's public pension system was 63 percent in fiscal year 2015.

* According to the Hoover Institution, Louisiana had unfunded liabilities totaling $99,513,510.

## Contents

* 1 Pew report
* 2 Hoover Institution report
* 3 Recent news
* 4 See also
* 5 External links
* 6 Footnotes

## Pew report[edit]

See also: Pew Charitable Trusts pensions study, 2017

According to a 2017 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, “[t]he gap between the total assets reported by state pension systems across the United States and the benefits promised to workers, now reported as the net pension liability, reached $1.1 trillion in fiscal year 2015, the most recent year for which complete data are available. That represents an increase of $157 billion, or 17 percent, from 2014.”[2] The table below provides information about pension plan liabilities and debt, funded ratios, and net amortization. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, "Net amortization measures whether total contributions to a public retirement system would have been sufficient to reduce unfunded liabilities if all expectations had been met for that year." This metric comprises two parts: an employer contribution benchmark, which is the amount the employer needed to contribute to the plan in a year in order to reduce pension debt, and the percentage of that amount that was actually paid. A positive net amortization percentage (i.e., one exceeding 100 percent) indicates that plans could expect to see a reduction in their debt. In 2015, according to Pew, 32 states saw positive net amortization percentages.

The table below provides information on pension health metrics for Louisiana. Information from surrounding states is provided for comparative purposes. All dollar amounts displayed below should be multiplied by 1,000,000 (e.g., $240,000 is equal to $240,000,000,000).

Pension health metrics from the Pew Charitable Trusts report, fiscal years 2012-2015 (dollars in millions)

State | 2015 | Funded ratio | Net amortization
Liability | Pension debt | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | Employer benchmark | Percent paid
Louisiana | $50,259 | $18,440 | 56% | 58% | 65% | 63% | $1,545 | 143%
Arkansas | $29,827 | $5,246 | 71% | 74% | 86% | 82% | $636 | 117%
Mississippi | $40,864 | $15,617 | 58% | 58% | 67% | 62% | $1,079 | 97%
Texas | $203,472 | $49,638 | 82% | 80% | 79% | 76% | $5,419 | 67%
Totals in the U.S. | $3,850,168 | $1,091,828 | 72% | 72% | 75% | 72% | $102,949 | 92%
Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts, "The State Pension Funding Gap: 2015," accessed August 21, 2017

## Hoover Institution report[edit]

See also: Hoover Institution pensions study, 2017

According to a report by the Hoover Institution released on May 15, 2017, "the vast majority of state and local governments continue to understate their pension costs and liabilities by relying on investment return assumptions of 7-8 percent per year." The report stated that, as of fiscal year 2015, the total unfunded liabilities of state and local pension systems totaled $3.846 trillion. The report distinguished between stated unfunded liabilities according to state governments and the market value of those liabilities; the Hoover Institution calculates market value by taking into account the ongoing interest costs and service costs of the plans, which include changes in payments year to year. According to the report, this represented "2.8 times more than the value reflected in government disclosures." The report also stated that, in all states except Alaska, there were large differences between the amount of a state's revenue that must have been contributed to pension funds to prevent unfunded liabilities under the Hoover Institution's expected return rate and the amount actually contributed. The table below provides information from the Hoover Institution report for Louisiana. Information for surrounding states is provided for comparative purposes.[3]

Pension health metrics from the Hoover Institution report, fiscal year 2015 (dollars in thousands)

State | Unfunded liability | Percent of revenue
Stated | Market Value | Contributed | Required to prevent rise in unfunded liabilities (expected return) | Required to prevent rise in unfunded liabilities (market value)
Louisiana | $22,713,834 | $54,301,533 | 9.7% | 6.7% | 10.6%
Arkansas | $5,955,638 | $23,391,060 | 4.9% | 4.3% | 10.6%
Mississippi | $15,617,381 | $39,685,975 | 5.8% | 6.1% | 11.6%
Texas | $69,352,150 | $243,717,755 | 3.6% | 3.4% | 9.7%
Source: Hoover Institution, "Hidden Debt, Hidden Deficits: 2017 Edition," May 15, 2017

## Recent news[edit]

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Louisiana + public + pensions"

Louisiana public pensions news feed

## See also[edit]

* Public pensions in Louisiana
* Public pensions in the United States
* Historical Louisiana pension information
* Louisiana state budget and finances
* Tax policy in Louisiana
* Pension statistics
* Public pension health by state
* Public pensions

## External links[edit]

* United States Census Bureau, Annual Survey of Public Pensions

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Note: The figures in the box reflect the figures reported by the Pew Charitible Trusts.
2. ↑ The Pew Charitable Trusts, "The State Pension Funding Gap: 2015," accessed August 21, 2017
3. ↑ Hoover Institution, "Hidden Debt, Hidden Deficits: 2017 Edition," May 15, 2017

v • e

Ballotpedia

About|

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

* * *

Executive: Leslie Graves, President • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Michelle Robinson, Senior Product Manager, Education & School Boards

Communications: Alison Graves • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Sarah Groat • Erica Shumaker
External Relations: Andrew Heath • Moira Delaney • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Policy: Caitlin Styrsky • Molly Byrne • Jon Dunn • Jimmy McAllister • Annelise Reinwald
Research: Josh Altic
Tech: Matt Latourelle • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Trevor Pollo • Joseph Sanchez

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

* * *

Editorial|

Geoff Pallay, Editor-in-Chief • Daniel Anderson, Managing Editor • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor • Cory Eucalitto, Managing Editor • Mandy Gillip, Managing Editor • Doug Kronaizl, Local Elections Project Manager • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Joseph Greaney • Jaime Healy-Plotkin • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Roneka Matheny • Ellie Mikus • Jackie Mitchell • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Maddie Sinclair Johnson • Abbey Smith • Janie Valentine • Joel Williams • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox • Mercedes Yanora

v • e

State of Louisiana
Baton Rouge (capital)

|

Elections |

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government |

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy