DES MOINES – The Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) announced today its investment portfolio returned 8.35%, net of fees, in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. This exceeded the actuarial return assumption of 7.0% and the fiscal year 2018 investment return of 7.97%.
Investment returns are integral to the growth of the IPERS Trust Fund because this income represents 70% of the benefits IPERS pays. Contributions from IPERS-covered employees and employers are pooled and invested over the course of the member’s career.
“At IPERS, we are committed to serving as responsible and accountable fiduciaries of the IPERS Trust Fund,” IPERS CEO Donna Mueller said. “Despite some challenging market conditions this year, our investment team continued to outperform our investment assumptions.”
IPERS is the largest public pension system in Iowa, with approximately 360,000 members. As of June 30, 2019, IPERS’ Trust Fund balance stood at $33.96 billion. IPERS currently pays more than $2 billion in annual benefits, including more than $1.8 billion to retirees living in Iowa.
