PSEA president: PSERS' strong investment returns show that the board and staff are making sound decisions

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HARRISBURG, PA (October 24, 2022) – Pennsylvania State Education Association President Rich Askey today commended the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) for posting the top return among its peer group in public-sector pension funds for the period ending June 30, 2022.

According to PSERS, the retirement fund earned a preliminary fiscal year investment return of 2.28%.

“More than 243,000 retired school employees and 248,000 active educators, support professionals, and school administrators rely on PSERS to preserve their retirement security,” Askey said. “These strong investment returns indicate that their retirement fund is making sound investment decisions and protecting the pensions that these dedicated Pennsylvanians have earned and paid for.”

PSERS’ preliminary returns for other periods that ended June 30, 2022 also included:

• 8.82% for the three-year preliminary returns (top 5% versus peers);
• 8.47% percent for the five-year preliminary returns (top 5% versus peers); and
• 7.92% for the 10-year preliminary returns (top 40% versus peers).

“PSERS is one of the most sophisticated and thoughtful public-sector pension funds in the nation, and these strong preliminary returns show that PSERS board members and staff are making sound investment decisions that prioritize the retirement security of both active and retired PSERS members,” Askey said. “We are very pleased with these preliminary returns, particularly considering how volatile the investment markets are at the moment.”

Askey is the president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, student teachers, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.