The 100 largest public-employee retirement systems had $2.8 trillion in holdings and investments in the third quarter of 2012, a 2.6% increase from the same quarter last year and the highest level since the second quarter of 2008, according to a Census Bureau report.
The quarterly survey of public pensions released Thursday also showed there was a 10% increase among public-employee retirement systems from $2.5 trillion in the third quarter of 2011.
Earnings on investments totaled $108 billion, showing gains following last quarter's losses of $16.3 billion the report said.
Government contributions and employee contributions decreased quarter-over-quarter 14.9% to $19 billion from $22.3 billion and 22.4% to $8 billion from $10.3 billion, respectively.
Government contributions saw a 5.4% year-over-year increase, while employee contributions saw a 10.5% increase
