Report: Teacher retirement system adds $1.4 billion in assets

October 5, 2015

Baton Rouge—The TRSL Board of Trustees received good news at its October meeting when results of the system’s annual valuation report were presented. According to the report, TRSL’s assets and funded status are up, and employer contributions will go down.

The system’s assets rose by $1.4 billion—an 8% increase over the previous fiscal year.  Assets now stand at $17.5 billion, increasing the system’s funded status to 60.9%. The report also showed employers will pay $20 million less in contributions for employee retirements next school year.

Additionally, the unfunded accrued liability (UAL), which is debt owed by the state to TRSL, decreased by $785 million.

“This report shows that the work done over the past 25 years to protect the soundness of the retirement system is paying off,” said TRSL Director Maureen H. Westgard. “It also confirms the findings of a recent report by the legislative actuary which concluded that TRSL pensions are sustainable.”

TRSL’s actuarial rate of return for FY 2015 is 11.26 %, exceeding its assumed rate of 7.75%. Over the long-term, TRSL’s 30-year average actuarial rate of return is 8.6%.

View the valuation report here.