City and county pension plans saw their ratio of unfunded future liabilities plummet more than 10 percentage points to 69 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to a report released Tuesday.

Wilshire Associates, a global independent investment and consulting firm, said the 106 public retirement systems included in its 11th annual survey saw their ratio from 80 percent. For the 105 systems that reported data before June 30, 2012, the funding gap reached a total of $173.6 billion, up from $101.6 billion a year earlier.

"This deterioration in funding ratio was fueled by global stock market volatility in the 12 months ending June 30, 2012…," said Russ Walker, vice president, Wilshire Associates, and an author of the report, in a press release. "Of the 105 city and county retirement systems which reported actuarial data for 2012, 92 percent have market value of assets less than pension liabilities, or are underfunded."

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