Overview Pensions :: Pioneer MASS Data Labs

Pioneer’s research on Massachusetts’ 104 public pension systems seeks to advance reforms that provide fair and sustainable retirement support. The state’s current public pension systems have staggering unfunded liabilities and offer retirement benefits above most of the private sector.

A reformed pension system would limit unfunded liabilities and provide retirement funding more consistent with private sector plans, while offering the incentives needed to attract a qualified state workforce.

As an introduction to MassPensions, please view the tables below that provide a compelling insight into the current state of Massachusetts’ pension system.

Table One: Retirement Boards that are Most Funded as of the 2022 Annual Report

*Retirement Boards*	*Funded Ratio*
Leominster	119.4%
Shrewsbury	105.8%
Watertown	103.6%
Quincy	101.2%
Massport	98.4%

Pioneer has scored and ranked systems on their funding deadline. Rather than the absolute date of the expected full funding, we will be grading systems on a rolling basis from the year of record of each data point.

We consider systems with less than four years on their liability amortizations essentially fully funded (right column). On the other end of the spectrum are systems with more than 20 years remaining, which includes the state and teachers’ retirement boards with a 2036 target.

Scoring Funding deadlines

Remaining Years to Full Funding	Score
Less than 4	A
4-9	B
10-15	C
16-20	D
More	F

Massachusetts Transparency

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Overview Pensions