Hawaii’s pension fund for state employees remains on track to being fully funded by 2046, according to Employees’ Retirement System Executive Director Thom Williams. The pension fund currently has a $13.5 billion shortfall — but that is $724 million smaller, as of June 30, 2022, than a year previously.

Economic hits suffered by the state spurred the Legislature to increase state and county employer contributions in 2017, and the ERS pursues a “risk-averse” strategy that has helped it remain relatively stable. That doesn’t mean ironclad growth, however; the fund is down 0.8% through the first six months of fiscal 2023.