Strong year pushes Pension Fund to $104-billion

BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)–As inflation and tight labor markets create uncertainty in the year to come, the state’s pension fund closed the calendar year in December at a record high $104.3 billion and posted the fourth largest annual gain in its history, pension officials reported Tuesday.

Pension Reserve Investment Management Executive Director Michael Trotsky said the pension fund, which pays out retirement benefits to state employees and teachers, grew by 20.1 percent after fees in 2021, for a gain of $17.4 billion. The investment performance of the fund beat projections by more than 8 percent, or about $7 billion, eclipsing the previous record-setting mark of 4 percent in 1999. “That was the strongest outperformance in our entire history,” Trotsky said.

The 2021 performance report was delivered during a meeting of PRIM’s investment committee on Tuesday. The meeting was chaired by Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who announced on Monday that her father, former Stop & Shop chairman Avram Goldberg, had passed away. The committee observed a moment of silence for Goldberg’s father, who Trotsky called a “legendary and very well-respected man.” “It’s amazing that you had the strength to be with us today,” Trotsky told Goldberg.

The good news on the fund’s performance comes amid what Trotsky described as a period of “high volatility” in the markets in January caused by inflation, tight labor markets and disruptions in supply chains.

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