New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced that the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) reached a record estimated value of $183.5 billion as of the close of the state fiscal year on March 31, 2015.  

“The Fund performed well over the past year despite the challenges in the market,” DiNapoli said. “We achieved a solid return on investments in the midst of global volatility thanks to our talented investment staff and our diversified asset allocation.” 

The Fund is the third-largest public pension fund in the country and remains one of the nation’s best-managed and best-funded pension plans. The New York State and Local Retirement System provides retirement security to more than one million active state and local government employees, retirees and their beneficiaries. Over the last 20 years, 80 percent of benefits have been funded from investment returns. Employer and employee contributions cover the remainder of the benefits cost and are determined by investment results over a multi-year period along with  numerous other actuarial assumptions, including wage growth, inflation, age of retirement and mortality. The Fund’s long-term expected rate of return is 7.5 percent. Strong returns in recent years have resulted in back to back consecutive reductions in employer contributions in fiscal years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

A graph showing the Fund’s value since 1993 is available here: www.osc.state.ny.us/sites/default/files/other/documents/pdf/2019-04/nyscrf-values-graph-2015.pdf