One of just five states with a fully funded pension in 2006, North Carolina has been fiscally responsible, generally paying the full annual required contribution to its pension systems every year. But retiree health and other nonpension benefits may put a strain on the state's budget. The bill coming due for those benefits has been calculated at $23.9 billion, of which about 48% is for state employees. The annual required contribution to fully fund this long-term obligation is $2.4 billion, about four and half times what the state paid for retiree medical benefit claims in 2006.