Pension Progress Report

New York's pension fund has regained much of the value it lost in the recession but still has a way to go, according to pension returns released by the comptroller's office last week.

The state's common retirement fund posted an overall 6.01% rate of return for the third quarter of the fiscal year, with its estimated value rising $7.8 billion to $140.6 billion as of Dec. 31.

"The fund benefitted from the rally in the equities market during the quarter," Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a news release. He said that 84% of the benefits paid to retirees comes from investment earnings.

As the recession hit full force in 2009, the fund's value dropped to $109.9 billion from $153.9 a year earlier. That drop and a cut in the assumed rate of return to 7.5% from 8% meant government employers who pay into the system had to increase their contributions. Pension contributions are calculated using a five-year averaging that smooths out sharp changes in the market.

A state law enacted last year gave government employers, such as counties and municipalities, the option of amortizing the increase over 10 years, though they would pay 5% interest on the payments.

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New York
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