Office of the State Actuary: LEOFF Plan 2 posts $22 billion in assets; projections show short-term funded status gains

Olympia — The Office of the State Actuary told the Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' Plan 2 Retirement Board on Oct. 22 that the plan’s market assets were about $22.08 billion on the June 30, 2024, valuation date and that recent market gains and actuarial smoothing should lift funded status in the coming years.

Mitch DeCamp of the Office of the State Actuary led the board through the 2024 valuation highlights and a projections update, saying, “The investment return was 7.95%.” He described that result as higher than the plan’s 7% assumed return and said the actuarial value of assets recognized $255 million of previously deferred investment gains while leaving roughly $1.02 billion still deferred.

The valuation snapshot and why it matters

DeCamp emphasized that a valuation is a point-in-time snapshot of plan measures — assets, membership data and liabilities — taken as of 06/30/2024. He said the actuarial value of assets used for smoothing and contribution calculations was about $21.06 billion (dollars in millions on the report’s table). The actuary reported that deferred gains of about $1.02 billion remain to be recognized in future years; $255 million of past deferred gains were recognized in 2024.

Participant experience pushed some measures down

DeCamp said participant…