The U.S.’s state and local public employee retirement systems fell $726.1 billion, or 22.7% in 2009, from $3.2 trillion in 2008 to $2.5 trillion in 2009, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. This follows a $176.7 billion loss the previous year.
The statistics come from the 2009 State and Local Public Employee Retirement Systems Survey, which looks at the financial activity and membership information of the U.S.’s public pension systems, including revenues, expenditures and investment holdings.
Receipts
Losses on investments totaled $633.4 billion in 2009, nearly $600 billion more than in 2008 when losses totaled $38.9 billion.
Employee contributions increased 7% in 2009, to $39.5 billion. Government contributions increased 4.5% to $86.1 billion with local government contributions increasing 10%, offsetting a 2.6% decline in state government contributions.
Payments
Total payments increased 4%, from $193.7 billion in 2008 to $201.5 billion in 2009, because of an increase in benefit payments, which rose 6.7% to $187.0 billion.
Cash and investment holdings
In 2009, most investment categories showed decreases. Corporate stocks dropped 29.8% from $1.2 trillion in 2008 to $808.9 billion in 2009. Corporate stocks comprised 32.8% of total holdings in 2009.
Increases were seen only in cash and short-term investments, real property and mortgages, which in total comprised 9.1% of total cash and investment holdings.