Florida Attorney General McCollum: State Pension Fund Secure

The Florida Retirement System pension fund is secure, and is not laced with subprime debt, said Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

McCollum was responding to a widely disseminated Bloomberg News Service article that said the pension fund owns more than $1 billion of the same downgraded debt that caused local governments to yank billions from the State Board of Administration-run Local Government Investment Pool, eventually leading to a freeze on the fund, restructuring and the resignation of the SBA's executive director.

In a letter, McCollum said none of the pension fund's investments have assets backed by subprime mortgages. Of the $138 billion fund, he said $756 million -- or .5 a percent -- consists of lower grade investments.