Pension fund dropped from $154B to $110B, state comptroller says

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the state’s massive public pension fund lost more than 26 percent on its investments during a fiscal year marked by Wall Street’s meltdown and the recession.

He says benefits to retirees are secure, but state and local governments will have to pay more into the fund soon to compensate for the diminished return on investments.

The fund was worth about $109.9 billion when the fiscal year ended on March 31, down from roughly $154 billion a year earlier.

The comptroller is the sole trustee of the fund, which pays pension benefits to public workers. It is funded through payroll deductions that are then invested nationwide.