Special to IFN
RALEIGH — On his final day in office, State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell announced that the North Carolina Retirement Systems (NCRS) had an estimated market value of $127 billion as of December 27, representing a 43 percent increase from when he first took the reins of the Investment Management Division. When Folwell first took office in 2017, the NCRS was valued at $89 billion.
This market value was achieved even after paying out almost $52 billion in gross benefits since 2017. It is estimated that for CY2024, the plans will return almost 8 percent, exceeding the assumed rate of return of 6.5 percent. The 2024 figures could change slightly, depending on official results from the monthly auditing process that should be concluded by the end of January 2025.
“When I raised my hand to be the 28th treasurer of North Carolina, I promised to preserve and protect the pension plans for current and future public service workers. I pledged to conservatively invest the North Carolina Retirement Systems’ funds for the benefit of those that teach, protect and serve – not Wall Street. I partnered with our Investment Management Division team to cut $500 million in excessive fees over eight years, putting that money back to work for state employees.”
The NCRS is one of the best funded pension plans in the country. But Folwell notes that headwinds for the pension system persist to this day. The plans have experienced a 30 percent increase in monthly payroll since January 2017. In December, NCRS paid $748 million to 371,288 beneficiaries.
These massive expenditures are occurring while the system is operating at a deficit much like Social Security, meaning that there are currently fewer people paying into the state’s pension plans than are eligible for benefits.
Treasurer Folwell added that bond rating from all three national rating agencies enables the state and local governments to obtain low interest rates when taking on debt to fund capital projects, thus saving taxpayers’ money.
“We’re in the check delivery business, sending out almost $755 million every month to more than 371,000 retirees who can count on us to keep the money coming,” Folwell said. “It’s been my honor to serve the people of North Carolina. There are many challenges that face the new treasurer. But I have every confidence that he will succeed due, in part, to the solid foundation laid during my and previous administrations.”
The North Carolina Retirement Systems is the ninth-largest public pension fund in the country. It provides retirement benefits and savings for more than 1 million North Carolinians, including teachers, state employees, local governments, firefighters, police officers and other public workers.