Top 10 US Pension Funds by Assets

The New York State Common Retirement Fund manages approximately $277 billion in assets for 1.2 million members and retirees, making it the third-largest US public pension fund. It is consistently among the best-funded large plans, with a funded ratio above 95%. The fund has committed to a net-zero investment portfolio by 2040.

NYC Retirement Systems manage approximately $280 billion in assets across five retirement funds, covering teachers, police, firefighters, and city workers. The NYC Teachers' Retirement System alone holds $105B+. In 2021 three of the five funds voted to divest roughly $4 billion from fossil fuel reserves.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas was established in 1937 and manages retirement and health benefits for around 1.9 million current and former Texas educators, making it one of the largest public pension funds in the United States. Its portfolio carries an unusually large allocation to private equity, real assets and other alternatives relative to most state plans.

The Washington State Investment Board manages the state's public pension and trust funds, and is known among US public plans for an unusually heavy allocation to private equity, which it built up earlier than most of its peers.

SWIB manages the Wisconsin Retirement System, one of the very few US public pension plans that is essentially fully funded. The reason is structural rather than lucky: WRS shares investment risk with its retirees, so annuity payments can be adjusted downward as well as upward with investment results, which stops the liability outrunning the assets.

Florida SBA's $220 billion asset base makes it one of the largest U.S. public pension funds. It serves over 1 million members across state, county, and municipal workers, and delivered a 7.9% net return in fiscal 2023. In 2023 Florida enacted a law barring ESG considerations from state investment decisions, reflecting political tensions around pension mandates.

Ohio STRS manages roughly $96 billion for about 500,000 active and retired public school educators and was founded in 1920. In an unusual governance fight, reform candidates backed by retired teachers won seats on the board and staff bonus payments became a public controversy that drew in the Ohio Attorney General.