Monday, December 8, 2008

State Retirement System Funds Secure

Bobby Beale, chief financial officer for the Louisiana State Employees Retirement System, said the system has suffered from the market downturn but "I'm a long-term investor, extremely diversified," so it is not in as bad a shape as the market or similar systems.

"In periods like this, it's obviously painful," he said. "It affects the plan short-term. Sometimes, markets are just bad" but they recover.

State employees should "not at all" be concerned, Beale said, because "their benefits are guaranteed." LASERS has made significant gains in the past and he believes a market "adjustment" is coming that would put things back on track.

Nationally, the state employee retirement system in three-, five- and seven-year performance comparisons has ranked in the top 25 percent, Beale said.

No comments: