HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) recently released its actuarial valuation report for fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, showing continued improvement in the system’s financial position as long-term funding levels strengthen and membership grows.
The actuarial valuation report, available on PSERS’ website, highlights several positive trends, including a steadily improving funded ratio, a $1.1 billion decrease in unfunded liabilities and active membership growth.
The system’s funded ratio increased to 66.6% from the previous 64.8% ratio and is expected to show continued improvement over the next decade. The funded ratio, which shows how the system’s assets compare to its liabilities, has been increasing since the 2017-18 fiscal year following years of decline.
Factors that have helped strengthen the funded ratio and contributed to the system’s $1.1 billion decline in unfunded liability include long-term employer contributions at the full actuarially determined rate coupled with steady payroll growth. PSERS’ budget book provides detailed analyses of the system’s actuarial, financial and investment results and highlights several areas of long-term improvement.
“PSERS has made steady progress strengthening the system’s financial position, and projections show that this trend is expected to continue in the years ahead,” said PSERS Executive Director Uri Monson. “Our commitment to our members guides the work we do every day, and we remain focused on making sound financial decisions that support our promise of providing a secure retirement.”
For the employer contribution rate (ECR), PSERS’ Board of Trustees in December adopted a resolution certifying it at 33.59%, which is a 41-basis point reduction from the previous rate of 34%. The decrease is the result of strong payroll growth offset by slightly unfavorable demographic experience during the recently ended 2024-25 fiscal year. The ECR is the amount school employers pay each year to help fund the system based on updated funding projections.
The increase in active membership is another healthy sign for the system. Membership reached a low of 247,873 for fiscal year 2021-22 following the pandemic, but has since increased to 261,669 in 2025, which is a 5.3% increase.
With those active members, PSERS’s total membership is 542,434, which represents about one in 25 Pennsylvanians. Additionally, PSERS paid about $7.7 billion in pension distributions in fiscal year 2024-25, of which $6.9 billion went to residents of Pennsylvania, resulting in an estimated economic impact of $9.6 billion.
“These results show steady progress and reinforce the importance of maintaining a disciplined, long-term approach to funding the system,” said PSERS Board of Trustees Chair Richard Vague.
Board members also echoed that sentiment, pointing to the steady work that has gone into strengthening the system.
“For the board, the priority has always been ensuring the system remains strong for the members we serve and well positioned for the long term,” said Eric DiTullio, chair of the Board’s Finance and Actuarial Committee.
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About the Board of Trustees
The 15-member Board of Trustees is an independent administrative board of the Commonwealth. The Board stands in a fiduciary relationship to PSERS’ members regarding investments and disbursements of the system’s funds. The Board’s other functions outlined in the Public School Employees’ Retirement Code include certifying contribution rates, authorizing the system’s actuarial valuation and independent audit, publishing an annual financial statement, and overseeing the operational activities performed by the system’s executive director and chief investment officer.
About the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System
PSERS, founded in 1917, began operations in 1919 to oversee a statewide defined benefit pension plan for public school employees. PSERS' role expanded upon the passage of Act 5 of 2017 to include oversight of two new benefit options consisting of defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components and a stand-alone DC plan. As of June 30, 2025, PSERS had a total net position of about $83.7 billion and a membership of about 262,000 active, 255,000 annuitants and beneficiaries, and 26,000 vested inactive members.