HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System’s (PSERS) long-term investment performance continues to strengthen the financial position of the pension fund, the latest Investment Performance Report indicated.
The report for the quarter ending March 31, 2026, showed strong long-term annualized returns at 8.49% over a three-year period, 7.42% over five years and 8.41% over 10 years.
“Our long-term investment performance remains strong, with annualized returns over the three-, five- and 10-year periods remaining above the system’s 7% actuarial objective,” said PSERS Board of Trustees Chair Richard Vague.
Over the past 12 months, the fund returned 10.26%. Additionally, the report showed total fund assets increased to approximately $85.7 billion.
“While market performance can vary from quarter to quarter, our disciplined and diversified investment strategy has helped generate strong long-term returns by balancing investment risk to support the retirement security of our members,” said PSERS Board of Trustees Vice Chair Susan Lemmo.
The investment performance report is one measure of the system’s financial position. Earlier this year, the system’s actuarial valuation report highlighted continued progress in the system’s financial position. The report showed the funded ratio increased to 66.6% and projects continued improvement over the next decade.
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About the Board of Trustees
The 15-member Board of Trustees is an independent administrative board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The board stands in a fiduciary relationship to PSERS’ members regarding investments and disbursements of the system’s funds. The board’s other functions outlined in the Public School Employees’ Retirement Code include certifying contribution rates, authorizing the system’s actuarial valuation and independent audit, publishing an annual financial statement, and overseeing the operational activities performed by the system’s executive director and chief investment officer.
About the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System
PSERS, founded in 1917, began operations in 1919 to oversee a statewide defined benefit pension plan for public school employees. PSERS' role expanded upon the passage of Act 5 of 2017 to include oversight of two new benefit options consisting of defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components and a stand-alone DC plan. As of June 30, 2025, PSERS had a total net position of about $83.7 billion and a membership of about 262,000 active, 255,000 annuitants and beneficiaries, and 26,000 vested inactive members.