The Public Employee Retirement Fund was up for its budget hearing this morning in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, and when Director Don Drum said, “This has been a really good 18 months for PERSI,” some JFAC members laughed at the understatement. The PERSI fund had a return of 12.7 percent on its investments in the 2017 fiscal year, which allowed it to reconsider a previously proposed rate increase. And, “As of close of business last night, we had a 10.2 percent return for this fiscal year.”

The PERSI fund is now worth a whopping $17.9 billion – almost $18 billion.

“I did calculate what it would take to get our amortization period below 10 years,” Drum told lawmakers. “And if we finish the year with /somewhere between 11.5 and 12 percent return, our amortization should drop below 10 years, so that’ very good.” He added, “At end of year, we were 89.6 percent funded. At close of business yesterday we were close to 95 percent funded. So we’re having a very good year. We had a really good year last year.”

PERSI, he said, is “the envy of most of the pension systems in the United States.” The Legislature is the plan sponsor, he noted, lauding the Legislature for its stewardship of the system. PERSI has about 149,000 members, including active and inactive public employees who have paid into the system and retirees.