PAFR Provides Overview of System

02/06/2020

The typical NYSTRS retiree is a 73-year-old woman who taught for 28 years before retiring and she still lives in New York state. That snapshot is just one of many interesting facts you will find about the System’s membership, finances and investments in the newly published Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR).

The eight-page PAFR uses graphics and brief narratives to paint a thorough picture of the System primarily using data from the 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). You can find both reports on the Annual Reports page of our website’s Library.

In addition to statistics on NYSTRS’ active and retired members, other items you will find in the 2019 PAFR include:

  • A breakdown of funding sources over the past 30 years that shows a whopping 85% of NYSTRS income has come from investment income.
  • Charts showing NYSTRS is 100.9% funded using a market value of assets and 99.2% funded using an actuarial value of assets, and that the System’s year-end assets totaled $122.5 billion.
  • Graphs depicting the growth of invested assets over the past 30 years as well as the breakdown of investments by asset category as of the 2019 fiscal year-end.

The PAFR is intended to be useful and understandable to those without a background in public finance. It has been recognized for the past several years by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) with the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting.

The PAFR is a great document to share with those looking for information about public pensions like NYSTRS. If you’d like a printed version of the PAFR, you may request one by contacting the System’s Public Information Office at news@nystrs.org or by calling (800) 782-0289.

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