At the end of fiscal 2023, the average funded ratio for public pension funds in the U.S. was 78.1%, up from 74.9% in fiscal 2022. The states with distressed status, which Equable defines as a funded status lower than 60%, include South Carolina (59.9%), Connecticut (57.8%), New Jersey (53.5%), Illinois (50.9%) and Kentucky (50.1%).
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.