Kevin Kroskey's Ohio Faculty Advisor

(The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS on 10/21/11.) Despite Strong Investment Returns, Annual Actuarial Valuation Underscores Need for Pension Plan Adjustments At its October meeting, the State Teachers Retirement Board received the preliminary annual actuarial valuation report prepared by its actuarial consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The report provides a "snapshot" of the actuarial position of the retirement fund as of July 1, 2011. Even though the system reaped its strongest investment return in nearly three decades during fiscal year 2011, the funding period for the pension fund remains "infinite," and the funded ratio declined slightly from 59.1% to 58.8%. The fund experienced a small actuarial gain of about $181 million during the fiscal year. While the positive investment return for fiscal year 2011 generated a gain, STRS Ohio uses a common accounting and actuarial technique called "smoothing" to spread market vola...

(The text below is reprinted from the news release by STRS on 9/16/11.) Pension Legislation Remains on Hold; Six Firms Respond to RFP Six potential vendors have submitted proposals in response to the Request for Proposals (RFP) from the Ohio Retirement Study Council (ORSC). The six firms that submitted proposals are: Deloitte, The Segal Company, Bolton Partners Inc., Hay Group, Milliman, and Pension Trustee Advisors. The ORSC has not met since the proposals were submitted. Senator Keith Faber (R-Celina), chair of the ORSC, reiterated at the August meeting his intention to conduct regional hearings on the five pension system boards' pension reform proposals; however, no announcement regarding the hearings has been made. STRS Ohio will share information concerning these meetings as soon as it becomes available. Retirement Board Updated on Asset-Liability Study Callan Associates, the Retirement Board's investment consultant, is conducting an asset-liability study for the pension...