Pension Plan Rebounds

Investments held by the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System currently are valued at $967 million after dropping to $919 million as of Sept. 30.

Unfunded liabilities totaled $537 million at the end of 2010 when the assets were valued at $982 million.

Larry Middleton, executive vice president for Stephens Capital Management, told system trustees last week that the investment return was a negative 9.5% at the end of the third quarter, but has since rebounded to a positive 5.1%.

The value of the system’s stock investments fell to $418 million from $511 million last quarter, with bond investments dropping slightly to $363.7 million from $364.4 million.

Arkansas governments contributed $58.9 million to the system in 2010, with members adding $18.6 million.

The system includes 4,000 retired members who received a total of $39.8 million in benefits in 2010. The 6,000 active members have an annual total payroll of $268.5 million.

A report from system actuary Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Co. said the number of retirees could increase to 8,000 by 2020, with total benefits of $107.5 million. Working members are expected to hit 13,000, with a total annual payroll of $397.4 million in 2020.

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Arkansas
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