Moody's Investors Service offered a mixed picture of states' progress on dealing with their pension liabilities in fiscal year 2014.
Twenty-seven of U.S. states had declines in their fiscal 2014 adjusted net pension liabilities compared with the fiscal year before, associate analyst John Lombardi and six other Moody's analysts wrote in a report.
However, fiscal year 2014's strong investment performances have since cooled, first in fiscal 2015 and then in what for most states is the first half of fiscal 2016, they wrote.
The median ratio of A.N.P.L. to government revenue decreased to 59% from 60% in 2014, a move in the right direction for government finances.
However, the total size of the states' adjusted net pension liability was barely changed, increasing 0.3% in fiscal 2014, they wrote in "Robust 2014 Investment Returns Provide Pause in Growth of Adjusted Net Pension Liabilities," released Friday.
Of the 50 states, 36 made contributions equal to 90% or higher of the actuarially determined contribution levels.
However, another measure showed contributions for 18 out of 25 states were insufficient to avoid unfunded liability growth. Data for this measure for the remaining 25 states wasn't available.
The worst performing states in terms of making their actuarially determined contribution in fiscal 2014 were: New Jersey (18.6%), California (48.2%), Texas (62.9%), New York (64.4%), Kentucky (64.5%), and Virginia (69.3%).
Which states could be said to be in the worst position with their pensions depends partly on what measure one looks at, though the same states tend to appear again and again. The states with the largest Moody's ANPL as a percent of fiscal 2014 state government revenues were: Illinois (297%), Connecticut (213%), Kentucky (185%), New Jersey (162%), and Maryland (149%).
The states with the highest Moody's ANPL at the end of fiscal 2014 as a percent of gross state domestic product were: Illinois (26.2%), Alaska (25%), Kentucky (21.9%), Connecticut (21%), and Hawaii (16.6%).
The states with the highest Moody's ANPL at the end of fiscal 2014 per capita were: Alaska ($19,394), Illinois ($15,158), and Connecticut ($14,769), New Jersey ($9,520), and Kentucky ($9,363).
