CalPERS fiscal health improves

CalPERS fiscal health improves

PRESS RELEASE FROM CALPERS Jan. 13, 2015

SACRAMENTO, CA –The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) released new financial reports Jan. 13 that detail the finances of the CalPERS pension plan and the plans of CalPERS contracting public agencies including cities, counties, and special districts.

The 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) (PDF, 2.65 MB) features a wealth of information on CalPERS financial and investment programs including pertinent actuarial and statistical data.

The key findings of the CAFR for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2014 include:

An estimated funding level of 77 percent for the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (PERF) – a positive growth of more than 7 percentage points. The PERF was funded at 69.8 percent as of June 30, 2013 based on the most recent actuarial value of assets. The PERF is the main pension trust fund that pays retirement benefits.
Surpassed $300 billion in assets for the PERF for the first time with an 18.4 percent return on investments. Strong results from the global equity markets and a rejuvenated real estate portfolio contributed to the performance.
Negotiated heath care premium cuts of about 3 percent for almost 600,000 members while containing increases for hundreds of thousands more.
Developed a set of innovative Pension and Investment Beliefs that articulate the Fund’s views on public pension design, funding, and administration, in addition to providing a clear basis for strategic management of the investment portfolio.
Increased the number of contracted employers that are taking advantage of prefunding future retiree health care obligations by 15 percent through the California Employers’ Retiree Benefit Trust Fund (CERBT). The CERBT is an optional program administered by CalPERS that includes more than 400 contracted employers with assets under management of nearly $4 billion, a $1.2 billion increase over the previous fiscal year.

While the CAFR lays out the financial picture of the multifaceted pension fund, specific information relating to each of CalPERS’ contracting public agencies is listed in the Public Agency Valuation Reports. These reports detail the financial status of each public agency pension plan and establish 2015-16 Fiscal Year employer contribution rates for the 3,093 contracting public agency employers.

For more than eight decades, CalPERS has built retirement and health security for state, school, and public agency members who invest their lifework in public service. Our pension fund serves more than 1.7 million members in the CalPERS retirement system and administers benefits for nearly 1.4 million members and their families in our health program, making us the largest defined-benefit public pension in the U.S. CalPERS’ total fund market value currently stands at approximately $294 billion. For more information, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.