ERS Texas Trust Fund investments surpass $40b

The investments of the Employees Retirement System of Texas Trust Fund have surpassed the $40 billion threshold for the first time, due to strong support from the Texas Legislature.

In 2021, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 321 to address a shortfall in funding in the ERS pension plan by making additional annual payments through 2054 and by creating a new cash balance retirement structure for state employees hired after Aug. 31, 2022. To date, the legislature has contributed $1.53 billion to the ERS plan as part of SB 321 and an additional $1.04 billion during the last legislative session to further address or eliminate liabilities related to the state’s three pension plans, including those within the Judicial Retirement System Plan 2 and Law Enforcement and Custodial Officer Supplemental Retirement Fund.

As of Aug. 31, the ERS Fund had a return of 12.51 percent over the last fiscal year. The ERS Retirement Trust had a 9.6 percent actual allocation to private