But liabilities still exceed assets by 17 percent.

Earlier this week, we discussed how deferred maintenance represents a form of hidden deficit spending. Underfunding pension contributions is another classic gambit of state government. Since bottoming out in the mid-2010s, the Virginia Retirement System has been inching closer each year toward full funding for teachers and state employees, according to this graph published by the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission in its 2025 VRS Oversight Report.

Eighty percent funding is often cited as a benchmark for a healthy pension system.