Retirement system increases net position to $8.5B in FY14

THE STATE pension fund increased by $817 million in fiscal 2014 to $8.5 billion, Auditor General Dennis E. Hoyle reported this week. / COURTESY OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL
THE STATE pension fund increased by $817 million in fiscal 2014 to $8.5 billion, Auditor General Dennis E. Hoyle reported this week. / COURTESY OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL

PROVIDENCE – The state pension fund increased by $817 million in fiscal 2014 to $8.5 billion, Auditor General Dennis E. Hoyle reported this week.
The financial statements, for the period of July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, include defined pension plans administered by the state retirement system covering approximately 68,000 members.
They include plans for state employees, teachers, the teacher’s survivors benefit program, state police, judges and municipal employees, as well as a new defined contribution plan, created as a result of pension reform in November 2011.
The system gained $1.1 billion from investments for the fiscal year ending June 30. The time weighted rate of return during the fiscal year was 15 percent, compared with 11 percent during the prior fiscal year.
Pension benefits paid to retirees and beneficiaries from the defined benefit plans during fiscal 2014 totaled $902 million, with distributions from the defined contribution plan totaling $2.6 million. Employee and employer contributions totaled more than $600 million to all plans.
Amounts accumulated in the defined contribution plan totaled $277.4 million as of June 30, which was its second full year of operation. The majority of defined contribution plan assets – 92 percent – are held in target date retirement fund investments.
According to the audit, the defined-benefit plan for state employees was 58.6 percent funded, the teachers’ plan was 61.4 percent funded, the judges’ plan was 93.7 percent funded, the state police plan was 97 percent funded, the municipal workers plan was 87.4 percent funded, while municipal police and fire was 84.8 percent funded, and the teachers survivors’ benefits was funded at 173.3 percent. The R.I. Judicial Retirement Fund Trust for Judges was 1.8 percent funded.
The audit reports are available on the Office of the Auditor General’s website oag.ri.gov.

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