Office of State Actuary actuary Michael Harber told the Select Committee on Pension Policy’s executive committee that OSA’s 2024 actuarial evaluation is publicly available and that the combined funded ratio for the state retirement systems is now about 100%. "The primary purpose of that report is to provide an update on funding progress, for example, the funded status," Harber said.

The committee was told why a second set of figures will appear later this year in the Department of Retirement Systems’ annual comprehensive financial report. Harber said the ACFAR is prepared to meet governmental accounting standards and uses different methods and assumptions than the actuarial funding analysis; consequently, "the asset and liability measures shown will not match between those 2 reports." He said he was notifying the committee so members are not surprised if media or others point to different numbers.

Vice Chair John Conway, speaking as a committee member, characterized the funding results as a notable improvement: "I was really impressed by the funding status on our plans when we dropped that investment figure," Conway said, adding that he has not previously seen so many plans at or close to 100 percent funded while serving on the committee.

Committee members and staff discussed causes cited in prior presentations: a suspension of unfunded actuarial liability (UAL) contributions for a limited period and a higher statutorily set investment rate of return assumption. Harber confirmed those changes reduce near-term contribution requirements and said the higher assumed return shifts more of the cost to expected investment earnings.

Harber closed by offering OSA’s continued availability to answer questions and provide further education to the committee. The committee did not take formal action on the actuarial report during the executive session.

The Office of State Actuary’s full 2024 actuarial evaluation is available on its website; the committee was advised to expect differing ACFAR figures later this year because of the accounting differences Harber described.