Alaska's state retirement system gains $4.6 billion

(The Center Square) - Alaska’s State Retirement System gained $4.6 billion following a “strong” fiscal year, according to the Department of Revenue.

The Treasury Division, which oversees $52 billion in state assets, closed the 2024 fiscal year with $43 billion in the retirement system, DOR said in a news release.

Additionally, another $9 billion of investments under fiduciary oversight of the Commissioner of Revenue grew by $580 million, the highest level of gains seen in a decade, the department said.

“The team at Treasury has done a tremendous job taking care of Alaskans and their retirement assets,” said Department of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum. “Not only have our near-term returns been very high, but the combined retirement fund investments have just hit the decade mark of beating our benchmark by more than 50 basis points, as well as outperforming peers during that same timeframe.”

Direct state funds saw “strong” investment performance, including an over 13% gain for long-term funds, according to the department.

Retirement plans outperformed expectations, gaining more than 9%, according to the Treasury Division.

Staff in the Treasury Division manage portfolios to reach investment goals and manage risk for state operating and retirement funds.

“Most of the funds are managed internally by state portfolio managers who focus on delivering both excess returns and administrative cost savings,” the Department of Revenue said.

Retirement funds showed better performance at the close of fiscal year 2024 over last year for public employees, teachers, and those under the judicial retirement pension.

The Military Retirement Trust Fund was the only one that closed out June 2024, which was below last year’s performance, according to June’s monthly financial report.

Earlier this year, the department forecasted Unrestricted General Fund revenue to be $3 billion for fiscal year 2024 and $2.8 billion for fiscal year 2025.

The Permanent Fund was set to transfer $3.5 billion to the general fund to cover government operations and dividend payments to Alaskans.