Aug. 4, 2021
For more Information Contact
Steve Esack
Press Secretary
Public School Employees' Retirement System
Phone: 717-720-4770
e-mail: stesack@pa.gov
PSERS Projects Its Highest Net Investment Return in Two Decades
The Fund earns preliminary 25%+ return for FY 2020-2021
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) is projected to have a preliminary net investment return of more than 25% for the 2020-21 fiscal year, according to information presented at a public meeting on Wednesday.
PSERS Trustee Jason Davis announced the estimated return for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, at the outset of a public workshop meeting of the Board’s Investment Committee. Davis is the Committee Chair.
PSERS estimated net return is more than 17 percentage points higher than the Fund’s assumed rate of return and is projected to generate preliminary, unaudited investment income of more than $12 billion. The system’s assumed return rate is 7.25%.
Final return data will be released later this year.
Wednesday’s public workshop meeting included several presentations by Verus Investments, the Board’s interim investment oversight consultant. Presentations and ensuing discussions among trustees, Verus and PSERS Chief Investment Officer Jim Grossman centered on PSERS investment policies, asset allocation, and performance as well as governance issues.
The Board and its respective Committees will hold additional public meetings on Thursday and Friday. The agendas can be found on PSERS website.
About the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System
PSERS, founded in 1917, began operations in 1919 to oversee a statewide defined benefit pension plan for public school employees. PSERS' role expanded upon the passage of Act 5 of 2017 to include oversight of two new hybrid options consisting of defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components and a stand-alone DC plan. As of March 31, 2021, PSERS had net assets of $65.9 billion and a membership of about 256,000 active, 240,000 retired school employees and 26,000 vested inactive members.